>  NOV  28  1902   *] 


BX  9877  .W42  T46  1901 

Thompson,  H.  A. 

Biography  of  Jonathan  Weave 


HisHOP  Jonathan  Weaver.— liiOu. 


BIOGRAPHY 


OF 


Jonathan  Weaver.  D.D. 


A  BISHOP 

in  the  Church  of  the  United  Brethren  in  Christ 

for  Thirty -five   Years 


REV.   H.  A.  THOMPSON,  D.D..  LL.D. 

With  an  Introduction 
br  BISHOP  N.  CASTLE,  D.D. 


Dayton,  Ohio 
United  Brethren  Publiihine  Houie 

IQOI 


Copyright,   1901 


"As  a  guest,  who  may  not  stay 
Long  and  sad  farewells  to  say, 
Glides  with  smiling  face  away, 

'Of  the  sweetness  and  the  zest 
Of  thy  happy  life  possessed. 
Thou  hast  left  us  at  thy  best. 


'Now  that  thou  hast  gone  away, 
What  is  left  of  one  to  say 
Who  was  open  as  the  day? 


'Safe  thou  art  on  every  side, 
Friendship  nothing  finds  to  hide, 
Love's  demand  is  satisfied. 


"Keep  for  us,  O  friend,  where'er 
Thou  art  waiting,  all  that  here 
Made  thy  earthly  presence  dear ; 


"And  when  fall  our  feet,  as  fell 
Thine,  upon  the  asphodel, 
Let  thy  old  smile  greet  us  well ; 

'Proving  in  a  world  of  bliss 
What  we  fondly  dream  in  this, — 
Love  is  one  with  holiness !" 

—Whittier. 


PREFACE. 


At  the  request  of  the  executive  committee  of  the  Board 
of  Missions,  we  have  sought  to  gather  together  and  ar- 
range in  consecutive  order  the  important  facts  in  con- 
nection with  the  life  of  Bishop  Jonathan  "Weaver,  so  the 
Church  might  know  more  clearly  the  life  he  lived  and  the 
work  he  wrought.  To  do  this  in  the  brief  space  of  time 
allotted  was  no  easy  task;  especially,  when  it  is  remem- 
bered that  during  his  long  and  eventful  life  he  kept  not 
a  line  of  diary,  which  would  have  given  definite  informa- 
tion as  to  his  whereabouts  at  any  particular  time.  In  his 
earlier  years  he  did  not  see  the  importance  of  it.  He  did 
not  anticipate  such  honor  as  the  Church  conferred  upon 
him.  He  was  more  concerned  in  the  making  than  in  the 
recording  of  history.  In  his  later  years,  it  seemed  as  if 
to  keep  a  diary  then  would  be  a  little  immodest. 

Then,  too,  he  never  kept  a  copy  of  a  single  letter  which 
he  wrote  to  any  one,  which  might  have  helped  to  fix  dates, 
or  to  show  the  trend  of  his  thoughts  at  certain  periods. 
Nor  did  he  keep  the  letters  written  to  him  by  other  par- 
ties; some  of  them  were  unkind  and  severe,  and,  in  mercy 
to  the  writer,  he  did  not  wish  others  to  see  them.  Com- 
pelled to  move  about  as  he  was,  these  files  of  letters,  be- 
coming bulky,  were  destroyed  whenever  he  prepared  to 
move;  so  it  is  easy  to  see  that  his  biographer  could  not 
get  much  help  from  any  of  these  sources. 

He  was,  however,  a  frequent  writer  for  the  Telescope, 
and  in  these  communications  he  mentions  not  a  few  things 


▼i  Freface 

in  connection  with  his  earlier  life.  He  gives,  in  these, 
very  fully  and  freely  his  views  of  life  and  of  church  polity. 
We  have  carefully  examined  all  these  Telescopes  of  past 
years,  malting  note  of  his  communications.  We  have  cor- 
responded with  acquaintances  and  friends,  and  thus  re- 
ceived many  facts  which  throw  side-lights  on  an  interest- 
ing life. 

In  short,  we  have  allowed  Bishop  Weaver,  as  far  as 
possible,  to  tell  the  story  of  his  own  life,  and  express  his 
opinions  in  his  own  words.  It  is  too  much  to  think  that 
we  have  made  no  mistakes.  We  have  sought,  however,  to 
deal  faithfully  and  honestly  with  the  record  he  has  made. 
An  intimate  personal  acquaintance  of  a  number  of  years, 
beginning  when  he  was  an  agent,  has  helped  us,  in  a  meas- 
ure, to  interpret  him.  We  hope  the  material  has  been  so 
adjusted  as  to  give  the  average  reader  a  fair  and  intelli- 
gent conception  of  the  life  he  lived,  and  the  manner  in 
which  he  wrought  for  the  Church  he  loved.  Let  us  be 
stirred  by  its  record  to  high  and  holy  endeavors,  and  seek 
to  follow  him  in  so  far  as  he  followed  the  Master. 

"Gone  before  us,  O  our  brother, 
To  tbe  spirit  land, 
Vainly  look  we  for  another 
In  thy  place  to  stand." 


CONTENTS. 

Pass 

Poem, iii 

Preface,  v 

Introduction,      -       -        -        - ix 

CHAPTER  I. 
Ancestry— Parentage— Birth, 19 

CHAPTER  II. 
A  Boy  in  School— 1830-1840,  31 

CHAPTER  III. 
His  Conversion,      -- 46 

CHAPTER  IV. 
A  Preacher  in  Charge,      .--.---      58 

CHAPTER  V. 
A  College  Agent, 76 

CHAPTER  VI. 
A  College  Agent,  Completed, 100 

CHAPTER  VII. 
Becomes  a  Bishop— 1865, 117 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
Becomes  a  Bishop,  Continued, 137 

CHAPTER  IX. 
Second  Term  as  Bishop,  1869-1873,     ...        -        152 

CHAPTER  X. 
Second  Term  as  Bishop,  Completed,      -       -       -       -    172 

CHAPTER  XI. 

Public  Discussions, 187 

vii 


viii  Contents 

Paob 

CHAPTER  XII. 
Third  Election  as  Bishop— 1873 203 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
Fourth  Electiou  as  Bishop— 1877,        -        -        .        .        216 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
Fifth  Election  as  Bishop— 1881, 235 

CHAPTER  XV. 
The  Gathering  Storm, 269 

CHAPTER  XVI. 
The  Battle  of  the  Giants— 1885, 279 

CHAPTER  XVII. 
The  Work  of   the  Commission   Explained    and    De- 
fended—1886-1888,        301 

CHAPTER  XVIIL 
Before  the  Courts, 323 

CHAPTER  XrX. 

Chosen  Bishop  Emeritus— 1893,  -        -        -        -        335 

CHAPTER  XX. 
How  He  Used  His  Pen, 347 

CHAPTER  XXI. 
Growing  Old, 365 

CHAPTER  XXII. 
A  Voice  from  Beulah  Land,  382 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

How  Men  Will  Think  of  Him,          -       -       -       .  403 

(1)  As  a  Man,         ..-.-..  403 

(2)  As  a  Preacher, 412 

(3)  As  a  Bishop,            421 

Sermons: 

Change  Yokes, 437 

Winning  Souls, 453 


INTRODUCTION. 


When  a  great  and  eventful  life  closes  its  earthly  career, 
and  passes  down  under  the  shadows  of  death,  we  at  once 
fall  to  asking  how  such  a  life  may  best  be  rescued  from 
the  oblivion  of  the  grave,  and  how  turned  to  the  service  of 
continued  usefulness  in  the  memory  of  the  living.  When 
the  highest  prophecies  of  a  life  are  fulfilled,  and  its  high- 
est hopes  and  plans  realized,  and  in  the  memory  of  the 
living  must  ever  be  regarded  a  success,  it  would  be  a  very 
grave  neglect  to  permit  such  a  career  to  perish  from  the 
annals  of  the  church.  It  should  be  relived  and  reenacted, 
as  nearly  as  possible,  in  future  time.  When  a  life  has 
been  in  harmony  with  the  true,  the  good,  the  beautiful, 
blameless  in  conduct,  radiant  with  hope,  yielding  in  serv- 
ice to  the  divine  will,  and  given  to  others  in  the  broadest 
philanthropy,  shall  death  conquer  and  the  grave  hide  such 
a  life  in  oblivion?  Is  death  to  end  all,  and  thus  rob  the 
world  of  a  salutary  influence  and  a  noble  example?  Is 
all  to  be  buried  from  sight,  and  are  no  reminders  to  sur- 
vive this  solemn  eclipse? 

There  is  a  provision  in  nature  that  nothing  be  lost. 
Though  we  are  born  to  die,  "and  be  as  water  spilt  on  the 
ground,"  yet,  like  the  water,  the  pious  dead  are  to  con- 
tinue their  ministry  of  good  to  the  living.  "Their  works 
do  follow  them."  Influence  is  imperishable.  All  our 
principles  and  all  our  actions  are  like  so  many  threads 
of  gold,  the  spinning  of  which  is  continued  from  genera- 


X  Introduction 

tion  to  generation.  It  is  the  mission  of  the  historian  and 
the  biographer  to  gather  up  these  shining  threads  and 
weave  them  into  a  garment  of  beauty  and  praise.  As  in 
nature,  so  in  influential  life,  God  has  unmistakably  meant 
"the  survival  of  the  fittest."  Future  ages  are  to  read  the 
records  and  be  influenced  by  the  deeds  of  the  noble  and 
true  of  to-day.  The  lives  that  are  embalmed  in  the  sacred 
records  have  a  more  enduring  memory  than  the  splendid 
mausoleum  or  colossal  monument  can  give.  Marble  will 
crumble,  bronze  will  corrode,  and  canvas  will  fade,  but 
the  life  associated  with  the  now  risen  Christ  is  thereby 
made  immortal.  So  Jesus  said  of  the  woman  that  anointed 
him,  "Wheresoever  this  gospel  shall  be  preached  in  the 
whole  world,  there  shall  also  this,  that  this  woman  hath 
done,  be  told  for  a  memorial  of  her."  "The  righteous  shall 
be  in  everlasting  remembrance."  "And  they  that  turn 
many  to  righteousness  shall  shine  as  the  stars  for  ever  and 
ever." 

Mankind  is  not  to  be  robbed  of  the  salutary  influence  of 
a  good  life.  Such  a  life  is  to  live  on,  and  repeat  itself  by 
many  times  its  natural  and  earthly  length.  What  a  privi- 
lege given  to  the  living  to  thus  lengthen  out  the  years 
and  extend  the  usefulness  of  those  they  love!  Here  is 
the  noble  mission  of  biography.  It,  in  a  measure,  puts 
into  enduring  form  the  influence  of  lives  that  have  blessed 
the  world.  Such  reading  is  often  more  fascinating  than 
a  romance.  Who  that  has  read  "The  Dairyman's  Daugh- 
ter," by  Leigh  Eichmond,  containing  an  account  of  the 
brief  days  of  a  humble  peasant  girl,  does  not  know  the 
charm  of  such  tender  records  ?  So  of  the  lives  of  the  more 
distinguished. 

The  law  of  association  has  a  wonderful  sway  over  human 
life.  This  is  a  wise  economy  of  God  in  our  nature.  It 
prompts  to  provisions  against  loss  in  a  world  where  every- 


Introduction  xi 

thing  is  so  fitful  and  fleeting.  When  the  Israelites  passed 
the  swelling  flood  in  triumph  in  their  journey  to  Canaan, 
twelve  stones  were  made  voiceful  of  the  event.  The  Egyp- 
tian obelisks,  the  statue  of  William  Tell,  Pompey's  Pillar 
on  the  Alexandrian  Hill,  Bunker  Hill  Monument  at 
Charlestown,  and  the  mausoleum  of  General  Grant  at 
Riverside  Park,  New  York,  are  all  striking  and  illustra- 
tive memorials.  They  take  the  place  of  the  human  tongue, 
and  to  a  vivid  imagination  are  full  of  meaning.  The 
form  may  be  unpretentious,  but  rich  in  significance. 

The  effort  to  make  abiding  the  life  and  labors  of  emi- 
nent churchmen  is  worthy  of  careful  study.  It  is  not  a 
trivial  thing,  that  we  may  dismiss  with  little  thought  and 
effort.  It  is  a  work  of  loving  service  to  put  up  a  memorial 
at  the  grave  of  one  who  feU  asleep  in  Jesus.  A  believer 
"being  dead  yet  speaketh."  This  is  true  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment dead.  The  eleventh  chapter  of  Hebrews  opens  up 
a  wonderful  perspective.  Here  Abel,  Enoch,  Noah,  Abra- 
ham, Sarah,  Isaac,  Jacob,  Moses,  David,  Samuel,  and  a 
host  of  others,  appear  in  marvelous  history,  romance,  and 
biography.  Back  to  these  the  Hebrew  mind  ever  turned. 
The  fathers  were  to  repeat  these  histories  to  their  children, 
and  thereby  incite  them  to  nobility  of  character.  What 
a  blessing  to  Israel  that  they  had  such  biographies  to  re- 
hearse!   Such  memories  are  blessed. 

I  am  sure  that  in  the  life  of  Bishop  Jonathan  Weaver, 
D.  D.,  the  Church  has  a  memory  worthy  of  cherishing, 
perpetuating,  and  rehearsing  to  coming  generations.  If 
it  were  for  the  sole  purpose  of  making  him  known  to  the 
Church  of  the  United  Brethren  in  Christ  in  America,  or, 
for  that  matter,  beyond  the  seas,  a  biography  would  be 
unnecessary.  His  life  is  too  well  and  too  widely  known 
for  this. 

It  is  too  early  since  his  departure  to  rightly  estimate  his 


zii  Introduction 

value  to  the  Church  and  the  cause  of  truth.  "We  have 
hardly  wakened  to  the  conscious  realization  that  he  has 
gone  from  us.  This  will  come  to  us  more  and  more  as  the 
years  multiply  between  us  and  the  sad  event.  He  was 
a  conspicuous  figure  in  our  midst,  and  impressed  his  per- 
sonality very  widely  on  the  Church,  molding  and  shaping 
its  organic  life  to  a  degree  beyond  that  of  any  other  one 
in  his  day.  A  member  of  the  Church  for  the  period  of 
over  half  a  century,  and  a  prominent  participant  in  all 
its  leading  interests,  working  with  great  singleness  of 
purpose  and  an  unflagging  energy  through  all  his  years, 
made  him  one  of  the  most  striking  and  characteristic  per- 
sonages of  his  time. 

He  was  a  leader  among  men.  Entering  the  ministry 
of  the  Church  of  the  United  Brethren  in  Christ  when 
there  was  an  early  and  growing  demand  for  true  leader- 
ship, and  with  this  element  largely  in  his  nature,  though 
imconscious  to  himself,  he  easily  succeeded  to  this  position 
early  in  his  official  career.  Had  his  calling  been  in  the 
line  of  the  politician  or  the  statesman,  he  would  have  dis- 
tinguished himself  and  taken  first  rank  as  a  leader.  His 
splendid  leadership  in  the  Church  rendered  possible,  in 
very  large  measure,  the  great  achievements  it  has  made  in 
recent  years. 

Bishop  Weaver  deserves  to  be  classed  among  the  great 
men  of  his  day.  He  is  easily  accorded  this  distinction  in 
a  physical  sense.  Few  men  were  more  conspicuous  and 
princely  in  physical  bearing.  Tall,  erect,  and  stately  to 
a  degree  far  beyond  the  ordinary,  he,  in  any  company, 
became  the  cynosure  of  all  eyes. 

He  was  great  in  intellect.  Without  the  culture  of  the 
schools,  he,  nevertheless,  succeeded  to  a  well-rounded,  thor- 
oughly capable,  and  preeminently  efficient  ministry  of  the 
word.     His  sermons  were  rich  in  theological  thought, 


Introduction  xiii 

fortified  and  embellished  by  strong  logic  and  fine  illustra- 
tion. They  were  always  edifying  to  the  people.  "The 
common  people  heard  him  gladly." 

He  often  championed  the  cause  of  truth  in  the  field 
of  debate,  and  it  may  be  said  of  him  that  he  never  meas- 
ured swords  with  his  antagonist  without  carrying  away 
the  laurels  of  the  victor.  Orthodoxy  and  Protestant,  evan- 
gelical religion  never  cowered  or  lost  when  he  was  in  the 
defense.  With  a  massive  brain,  and  an  intellect  keen, 
penetrative,  incisive,  and  of  great  activity  and  force,  he 
easily  held  the  mastery  in  the  theological  arena.  He  kept 
himself  well  informed  in  the  current  literature  and  re- 
ligious thought  of  the  time,  and  seemed  never  lacking 
in  the  knowledge  essential  to  the  defense  of  his  positions. 
Quite  a  favorite  expression  with  him,  during  the  years  of 
his  controversies,  was  the  statement  of  the  Apostle  Paul, 
"I  am  set  for  the  defense  of  the  gospel." 

Bishop  Weaver  was,  in  a  sense,  a  pioneer  in  the  Church 
of  his  choice.  He  belonged  to  the  skirmish  line  of  the 
army  of  religious  and  spiritual  conquest.  He  helped  to 
kindle  the  beacon-fires  on  the  hilltops  of  religious  thought, 
to  blaze  the  way  through  tangled  forests  of  difficulty,  to 
discover  and  point  out  the  fords  and  construct  bridges 
across  what  to  others  seemed  impassable  rivers,  to  find 
the  sites  for  great  religious  enterprises,  and  aid  in  their 
founding.  He  belonged  to  the  true  architects  and  builders 
of  churches  and  nations. 

As  a  speaker  and  writer,  he  excelled.  The  pulpit  was  the 
throne  of  his  power.  The  gospel  message  fell  from  a  fire- 
lit  tongue,  and  rolled  in  volume  like  the  billows  of  the 
sea.  His  terminology,  always  of  the  simplest,  made  him 
the  delight  of  any  audience,  and  put  him  in  happy  relation 
with  both  the  scholar  and  the  unlettered.  Childhood  never 
wearied  of  hearing  him,  and  it  may  be  said  that  he  called 


xiv  Introduction 

them  unto  him  and  blessed  them.  No  difference  what  the 
grade  of  intelligence  among  his  hearers,  all  were  instructed 
and  impressed.  His  sermons  were  doctrinal,  evangelical, 
and  warmly  revivalistic.  While  his  style  was  vigorous 
and  transparent,  it  was  never  nervous.  He  was  the  most 
cool  and  self-possessed  of  men.  He  had  perfect  command 
of  himself.    He  ruled  his  own  spirit. 

This  excellent  type  of  ministry  was  maintained  down 
to  the  latest  period  of  it.  If  any  difference,  it  was  richer 
and  riper  in  thought,  mellower  and  deeper  in  spirit,  com- 
ing as  from  out  the  invisible  glory.  The  echoes  of  some 
of  his  words  are  still  in  the  hearts  of  those  that  hung 
upon  his  lips  in  his  later  ministry,  and  eternity  alone  will 
tell  the  glory  and  usefulness  of  such  a  ministry. 

His  sermons  were  always  full  of  Christ.  He  gave  him 
the  largest  place,  the  most  prominence  of  all.  Every 
thought,  every  illustration,  all  imagery  gathered  around 
Christ,  awaiting  his  bidding  as  to  the  service  to  be  ren- 
dered. The  preacher's  heart  and  brain  seemed  filled  and 
crowded  with  this  wonderful  personage.  He  never  allowed 
anything  to  crowd  Christ  out  of  his  sermon  or  out  of  his 
own  life.  This  was  the  secret  of  his  power  and  of  his 
attraction.  He  lifted  up  Christ  and  held  him  before  a 
perishing  world.  This  will  be  very  apparent  to  the  reader 
as  he  traces  his  life  in  his  biography  and  reads  some  of 
his  sermons  and  addresses  that  are  published  therein. 

As  a  writer  on  religious  subjects,  he  was  one  of  the  most 
fascinating  as  well  as  edifying.  The  spirit  that  pervaded 
his  sermons  breathed  through  his  written  productions. 
His  pen  was  always  ablaze  with  the  old-time  gospel  and 
old-time  revival  fire.  His  writings  were  models  of  purity 
of  thought  and  expression.  He  was  self-made,  but  so  well 
and  gracefully  made  as  to  leave  no  unsightly  scars.  A 
ready  wit,  that  never  had  a  sting,  and  a  humor  that  never 


Introduction  xv 

appealed  to  an  unworthy  sentiment,  made  all  his  writings, 
as  well  as  his  conversations,  pleasingly  popular.  He  was 
primitive  in  the  spirit  of  the  gospel,  while  he  was  modern 
and  progressive  in  its  statement  and  in  his  adaptation  to 
present-day  conditions  and  needs. 

He  was  thoroughly  orthodox  in  his  creed.  He  had  no 
faith  in  the  agnosticism  of  the  day.  He  knew  he  had 
something  beneath  him  on  which  to  stand,  and  something 
above  him  to  which  to  hold.  He  felt  the  power  of  this 
certainty  within,  when  in  the  pulpit,  and  it  often  trans- 
figured his  face  to  the  glow  of  a  soft  summer  sunset. 

In  charity,  he  was  broad  and  unbounded.  While  he 
loved  his  own  Church,  he  courted  fellowship  with  every 
soldier  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  This  led  him,  by  urgent 
invitation,  into  leading  pulpits  of  other  churches,  where 
he  was  always  popular,  and  in  great  demand.  Who  ever 
heard  him  utter  an  ungenerous  word  or  a  harsh  invective 
against  a  fellow-Christian? 

Occasions  were  not  wanting,  possibly,  during  his  long 
association  with  men,  and  during  seasons  of  heated  discus- 
sion on  questions  regarded  vital  to  the  interests  of  the 
Church,  for  the  exercise  of  sharp  and  biting  sarcasm.  But 
who  ever  heard  it  from  his  lips  ?  He  was  always  courteous 
and  genial,  affable  and  dignified  on  all  occasions,  however 
provoking  an  occasion  might  be.  He  was  true  to  his 
friends,  he  was  not  unkind  to  official  enemies.  It  seemed 
that  nothing  changed  his  spirit  or  his  manner.  His  de- 
portment was  always  the  same — unaffected,  simple,  honest, 
candid,  seeking  no  advantage,  displaying  no  pomp  or 
pride,  no  ostentation  in  public  or  private  life,  always  a 
plain,  open-hearted  Christian. 

In  counsel,  he  was  one  of  the  wisest  and  most  reliable, 
especially  in  matters  pertaining  to  the  affairs  of  the 
Church.     For  the  period  of  thirty-six  years  he  had  the 


xvi  Introduction 

hearty  approval,  every  four  years,  of  the  General  Confer- 
ence. His  administration  as  bishop  was  always  eminently 
satisfactory,  so  that  his  official  character  is  as  much  a 
legacy  to  the  Church  as  was  his  active  service.  His  wis- 
dom seemed  adequate  to  the  correct  decision  of  nearly 
every  question  submitted  to  him.  The  Church  will  readily 
recall  some  of  the  most  important  questions  that  have  ever 
been  brought  before  its  council  boards  upon  which  his 
opinion  was  required.  In  the  chair,  as  presiding  officer, 
he  was  always  found  adequate  to  every  exigency  that 
might  arise.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  none  of  his  associates 
ever  gave  higher  satisfaction  in  this  than  did  he. 

He  was  permitted  to  live  beyond  the  scriptural  limit  of 
human  life.  While  this  would  not  be  a  blessing  to  all, 
in  this  case  length  of  days  was  a  blessing  to  the  Church 
and  the  world.  His  memory  was  strong,  his  intellectual 
faculties  clear,  and  his  judgment  unimpaired  to  the  last. 
His  strength  in  these  respects  was  unabated. 

Now,  it  is  eminently  proper  that  a  character  so  con- 
spicuous in  our  Church  life,  and  one  that  has  so  largely 
shaped  its  polity  for  the  last  quarter  of  a  century,  should 
have  his  memory  peri)etuated  and  his  influence  continued 
and  extended  to  the  largest  degree  possible.  With  a  view 
to  this  his  biography  has  been  written.  This  will  unfold 
in  successive  chapters  this  great  life.  The  reader  will  be 
charmed  as  he  traces  it  through  the  various  stages  of  evo- 
lution, or  growth,  from  its  primitive  and  rugged  beginning 
to  its  ripened  maturity.  Such  a  life  and  such  a  record  as 
are  here  given  will  be  read  by  thousands  of  admiring  ones, 
who  will  readily  associate  them  in  memory  with  the  most 
important  period  and  achievements  of  the  Church  in  the 
past. 

This  biography  will  add  another  rich  and  treasured  vol- 
ume to  the  growing  literature  of  the  Church,  the  perusal 


Introduction  xvii 

of  which,  we  may  hope,  will  be  a  great  stimulus  to  both  old 
and  young,  both  in  the  ministry  and  in  the  laity,  leading 
to  larger  loyalty  to  God  and  duty,  and  the  achievement  of 
nobility  of  character  here,  and  finally  of  eternal  life  here- 
after. N.  Castle. 
Philomath,  Oregon,  April  25, 1901. 


BIOGRAPHY  OF  JONATHAN 
WEAVER. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Ancestry — Parentage — Birth. 

Says  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes:  "Each  of  us  is 
only  the  footing  of  a  double  column  of  figures  that 
goes  back  to  the  first  pair.  Every  imit  tells,  and 
some  of  them  are  ylus  and  some  minus.  If  the  col- 
umns do  not  add  up  right,  it  is  commonly  because  "we 
cannot  make  out  all  the  figures." 

The  ancestry  of  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson  was  re- 
markable for  a  long  succession  of  clergymen  in  its 
genealogy,  and  for  the  large  numbers  of  college  grad- 
uates encountered  in  its  rolls.  Says  one,  "If  the 
ideas  of  parents  survive  as  impressions  or  tenden- 
cies in  their  descendants,  no  man  had  a  better  right 
to  an  inheritance  of  theological  instincts  than  this 
representative  of  a  long  line  of  ministers."  Emer- 
son himself  believed  in  the  transmission  from  parent 
to  child  of  certain  characteristics.  He  says: 
"Though  nature  appears  capricious,  some  qualities 
she  carefully  fixes  or  transmits,  but  some  of  those, 


20  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

and  those  the  finer,  she  exhales  with  the  health  of 
the  individual  as  too  costly  to  perpetuate.  But  I 
notice,  also,  that  they  may  become  fixed  and  perma- 
nent in  any  stock  by  planting  and  replanting  them 
on  every  individual,  until,  at  last,  nature  adopts  them 
and  bakes  them  on  her  porcelain." 

Dr.  Elam,  in  "A  Physician's  Problems,"  says: 
"The  idiot  almost  always  engenders  idiots;  no  man 
of  talent  ever  had  an  imbecile  or  an  idiot  for  his 
father  or  mother.  It  is  a  matter  of  daily  observa- 
tion that  the  ordinary  run  of  children  have  about 
the  same  intellectual  capacities  as  their  parents,  one 
or  both ;  the  education  may  be  different,  but  the  orig- ' 
inal  nature  seems  to  be  about  the  same  standard. 
.  .  .  The  two  Scaligers,  the  two  Vossiuses,  the 
two  Herschels,  the  two  Coleridges,  the  Malesherbes, 
the  father  and  son  Montesquieu,  the  two  Sheridans, 
and  the  Kemble  family  furnish  additional  illustra- 
tions as  to  how  frequently  talent  is  allied  to  talent. 
Mirabeau,  the  father,  contained,  so  to  speak,  Mira- 
beau,  the  tribune.  The  family  of  ^schylus  num- 
bered eight  poets.  The  father  of  Torquato  Tasso 
had  the  gift  as  his  son  had  the  genius  of  verse.  This 
sort  of  succession  of  gift  or  ability  in  the  family, 
followed  by  genius  in  the  son,  is  not  rare.  Flaxman 
was  the  son  of  a  molder  of  plaster  casts.  Thor- 
waldsen,  the  rival  of  Canova,  was  a  son  of  a  poor 
sculptor.  Kaphael's  father  was  himself  a  painter. 
The  mother  of  Vandyke  had  a  talent  for  painting. 
Parmigiano  was  of  a  family  of  painters;  so  was 
Titian ;  so  is  Horace  Vernet.    The  father  of  Mozart 


His  Ancestry  21 

was  a  violinist  of  some  reputation;  his  children  in- 
herited part  of  his  talent.  Beethoven  was  the  son 
of  a  tenor  singer.  A  whole  host  of  composers  have 
emanated  from  the  family  of  Bach."^ 

"I  have  a  feeling,"  wrote  Emerson,  "that  every 
man's  biography  is  at  his  own  expense.  He  fur- 
nishes not  only  the  facts,  but  the  report.  I  mean 
that  all  biography  is  autobiography.  It  is  only  what 
he  tells  of  himself  that  comes  to  be  known  and  ber 
lieved."  This  is  true  of  our  subject,  as  of  all  others. 
What  we  know  of  him  we  must  learn  from  what  he 
has  written  of  himself,  or  what  we  have  learned  by 
associating  with  him.  This  is  just  as  true  of  his 
ancestry.  They  were  common  people,  whose  names 
were  never  emblazoned  on  the  roll  of  fame.  They 
were  not  in  the  councils  of  kings,  nor  did  they  lead  the 
armies  of  the  nation.  They  were  not  the  leaders 
of  fashionable  society,  whose  deeds  were  paraded  in 
the  columns  of  the  fashionable  newspapers,  nor  the 
pampered  millionaires,  whose  word  ruled  the  mar- 
kets of  the  state.  They  were  plain,  unlettered  peo- 
ple, whom  God  must  have  loved,  as  some  one  says, 
for  he  placed  so  many  of  them  here.  They  secured 
a  little  piece  of  land,  and  went  to  work  to  erect  a 
modest  home,  and  to  bring  up  the  children  whom 
God  gave  them,  teaching  them  to  be  good  citizens, 
to  fear  God,  to  obey  the  law,  and  to  love  their  fellow- 
men.  They  were  nature's  noblemen,  who  bowed  the 
knee  to  none,  and  acknowledged  no  master  save  the 
King  of  kings. 

»"A  Physician's  Problems,"  p.  36. 


22  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

Bishop  Weaver's  grandfather  on  his  father's  side 
came  from  Germany,  about  the  year  1750,  and  for 
a  time  lived  in  Lancaster  County,  Pennsylvania.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  Church.  Speaking  of 
the  influx  of  Germans  about  this  time,  Dr.  Drury 
says;  'Trom  the  general  oppression  and  discontent, 
it  is  easy  to  see  that  large  numbers  would  flock  to  the 
new  land.  The  great  majority  sought  homes  in  Penn- 
sylvania. Here  they  constituted  about  one^third  of 
the  population,  occupying  almost  exclusively  some 
parts  of  the  country.  In  1751,  it  was  estimated  that 
in  Pennsylvania  there  was  a  German  population  of 
ninety  thousand,  thirty  thousand  of  the  number  be- 
ing traditionally  attached  to  the  Reformed  Church. 
The  Germans  were  without  a  knowledge  of  the  lan- 
guage of  the  provinces,  and,  to  a  large  extent,  with- 
out pastors  and  schools.  The  time  of  many  of  the 
Germans  was  sold  for  a  term  of  years  to  pay  their 
passage  money.  The  most  of  them  had  come  from 
homes  of  the  peasant  class. 

"Though  in  their  new  situation  they  were  gener- 
ally industrious  and  thrifty,  the  condition  of  religion, 
among  them  became  the  most  deplorable.  The  Ger- 
man immigrants  brought  little  in  the  form  of  re- 
ligious help  with  them,  and  they  found  the  least  in 
their  new  settlements  that  would  guard  and  nourish 
spiritual  life.  In  their  homes  in  Europe,  religion 
was  too  often  an  outward  form ;  and  now,  in  these 
wilderness  homes,  in  their  unwillingness  to  part  with 
all  religion,  it  was,  to  a  great  extent,  a  mere  dead 
form  that  they  made  more  or  less  effort  to  establish. 


His  Ancestry  23 

Their  minds  were  hardened  by  the  treatment  they 
had  met ;  their  energies  were  taxed  in  the  struggle 
to  build  homes  and  secure  subsistence,  and  the  very 
atmosphere  of  the  new  world  encouraged  a  wild  and 
reckless  life."^ 

In  1751,  the  town  of  Lancaster  contained  five  hun- 
dred houses  and  two  thousand  inhabitants.  It  was 
not  until  1792  that  the  turnpike  was  located  between. 
Philadelphia  and  Lancaster — the  first  located  in  that 
country,  and  not  until  sevea-al  years  later  was  it 
completed.  There  was  not  even  a  passenger  stage 
route  between  these  places  before  1784.  Thus  we  see 
how  unsubdued  and  new  the  country  was. 

About  1752,  his  grandfather  removed  to  west- 
ern Pennsylvania,  and  took  up  his  residence  in  Wash- 
ington County.  The  grandfather  on  Bishop  Weaver's 
mother's  side  was  a  native  of  this  county,  but  the 
place  of  his  birth  cannot  now  be  definitely  ascer- 
tained. He  was  of  German  origin,  and  settled  in  an 
early  day  in  Washington  County,  Pennsylvania. 

This  was  in  part  settled  by  Scotch-Irish,  who  were 
inclined  to  the  Presbyterian  faith.  A  young  Pres- 
byterian clergman,  who  came  there  in  1778  to  look 
after  the  spiritual  wants  of  the  people,  and  who  be- 
came the  founder  of  the  first  college  west  of  the  Alle- 
ghenies,  leaves  this  record:  "When  I  came  to  this 
county,  the  cabin  in  which  I  was  to  live  was  raised, 
but  there  was  no  roof  on  it,  nor  chimney,  nor  floor  in 
it.  The  people,  however,  were  very  kind,  assisted 
me  in  preparing  my  house,  and  on  the  15th  of  De- 

«Llfe  of  Otterbein,  pp.  60,  61. 


24  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

cember  I  moved  into  it.  But  we  had  neither  bed- 
stead, nor  table,  nor  chair,  nor  stove,  nor  pail,  nor 
bucket;  all  these  things  we  had  to  leave  behind  us, 
there  being  no  vs^agon  road  at  that  time  over  the 
mountains ;  we  could  bring  nothing  with  us  but  what 
was  carried  on  pack-horses.  We  placed  two  boxes 
on  each  other,  which  served  for  a  table ;  and  two  kegs 
served  for  seats ;  and,  having  committed  ourselves  to 
God  in  family  worship,  we  spread  a  bed  on  the  floor 
and  slept  soundly  until  morning.  The  next  day,  a 
neighbor  coming  to  my  assistance,  we  made  a  table 
and  a  stool,  and  in  a  little  time  had  everything  com- 
fortable about  us.  Sometimes,  indeed,  we  had  no 
bread  for  weeks  together;  but  we  had  plenty  of 
pumpkins  and  potatoes,  and  all  the  necessaries  of 
life,  and  as  for  luxuries,  we  were  not  much  concerned 
about  them.  We  enjoyed  health,  the  gospel  and  its 
ordinances,  and  pious  friends.  We  were  in  the  place 
where  we  believed  God  would  have  us  to  be,  and  we 
did  not  doubt  he  would  provide  everything  necessary, 
and,  glory  to  his  name,  we  were  not  disappointed."^ 

To  have  journeyed  from  Lancaster  to  western 
Pennsylvania  a  quarter  of  a  century  before  this,  in 
the  midst  of  the  privations  which  they  must  have 
encountered,  took  no  little  pluck  and  energy. 

The  father  and  mother  of  our  subject  were  both 
born  in  Washington  County,  Pennsylvania,  and  in 
the  same  year.  No  record  was  kept  of  these  events, 
or,  if  there  was  any,  it  has  long  since  been  lost, 
but  it  was  about  the  year  1775.     They  were  mar- 

« Rev.  Dr.  McMillan. 


His  Ancestry  25 

ried  in  Washington  County,  Pennsylvania,  in  1798. 
They  went  to  Carroll  County,  Ohio,  about  1810. 
This  was  very  soon  after  Ohio  was  admitted  into 
the  Union  as  a  State.  Like  almost  all  of  their 
neighbors,  they  were  uneducated.  They  could  read 
and  write  in  the  German  language,  and  learned 
to  read  and  write  in  English  after  they  were 
married.  Ohio  was  a  wild  section  then,  with  won- 
derful possibilities.  When  Ohio  was  admitted  to 
the  Union,  in  1803,  it  had  but  60,000  population. 
"The  feeble  and  remote  beginnings  in  Ohio's  history 
hardly  prepare  us  to  comprehend  the  remarkable 
growth  in  everything  that  goes  to  make  up  civilized 
life.  For  several  years  the  cost  of  transportation 
checked  the  settlers  by  limiting  them  to  a  domestic 
market.  The  only  means  they  had  of  communicating 
with  occasional  markets  was  by  pack-horses.  The  first 
railroad  was  open  in  1838,  to  connect  Dayton  with 
Sandusky,  and  was  completed  in  1841.  The  men 
who  came  here  at  this  early  day  were  usually  men 
of  sterling  character.  They  possessed  a  spirit  of  in- 
dustry, integrity,  and  the  fear  of  God.  They  came 
into  the  country  without  wealth,  but  they  had  what 
was  far  better — noble  purposes,  elevated  aspirations, 
and  a  firm  faith  in  God.  Our  history  is  the  outcome 
of  what  was  folded  up  in  the  nature  of  these  pioneers. 
"Their  toilsome  journey  to  their  future  homes  was 
made  without  a  road  to  guide  them.  They  entered 
a  dreary  and  unbroken  forest,  to  find  no  hotel,  and 
were  often  separated  by  miles  from  their  nearest 
neighbor.     'Their  first  necessity,'  says  Rufus  King, 


26  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

'was  to  girdle  the  trees  and  grub  a  few  acres  for  a 
corn  crop  and  a  truck  patch  sufficient  for  the  season. 
As  soon  as  the  logs  were  cut,  a  cabin  was  built  with 
the  aid  of  neighbors.  But  food  rather  than  shelter 
was  the  severest  want  of  the  pioneers.  True,  the 
woods  were  full  of  game,  but  venison,  turkey,  and 
bear  meat  all  the  time  became  tiresome  enough. 
There  was  no  bread  or  salt.  The  scanty  salt  springs 
were  therefore  precious.  The  Indian  corn,  when 
once  started,  was  the  chief  reliance  for  man  and 
beast.  The  furniture  of  the  cabins  and  the  dress  of 
the  people  necessarily  partook  of  the  same  absolutely 
rustic  simplicity.  Excellent  tables,  cupboards,  and 
benches  were  made  of  poplar  and  beech  boards.  The 
buckeye  furnished  not  only  bowls  and  platters  for  all 
who  had  no  tin  or  queensware,  but  also  the  split- 
bottom  chair,  still  in  popular  use.  Bearskins  were 
bed  and  bedding.  The  deerskin,  dressed  and  un- 
dressed, was  very  much  used  for  clothing;  and  the 
skins  of  the  raccoon  and  rabbit  formed  a  favorite 
headgear.  But  wool  and  flax  soon  abounded,  and 
spinning-wheels  and  looms  became  standard  articles 
in  every  home.  The  home-made  tow,  linen,  and  wool- 
ens, or  mixed  flannels,  linseys,  or  jeans,  constituted 
the  chief  materials  for  clothing.' 

"They  grew  in  character  and  power  because  they 
were  ready  to  defend  and  preserve  what  their  labor 
had  secured.  They  wrestled  and  struggled  against 
physical  forces,  severity  of  climate,  fierceness  of 
beasts,  and  the  hostility  and  brutality  of  savages. 
These   struggles   strengthened   character,    nourished 


His  Ancestry  2T 

manhood,  and  incited  to  heroic  deeds.  From  harsh, 
sterile  conditions  men  have  gone  forth  conspicuous 
for  energy  and  valor.  The  early  pioneers  not  only 
heroically  struggled  in  all  the  expeditions  in  their 
aggressive  warfare  against  the  Indians,  but,  in 
1812,  Ohio  was  called  upon  to  help  engage  in  the 
disastrous  and  bloody  war  against  Great  Britain. 
Three  regiments  were  first  sent  into  the  field.  The 
following  year,  several  brigades  of  militia  were  called 
out  to  resist  the  British  invasions.  This  war  caused 
great  sacrifice.  An  eye-witness  described  the  coun- 
try as  depopulated  of  men,  and  the  farmer  women, 
weak  and  sickly  as  they  often  were,  and  surrounded 
by  their  helpless  little  children,  were  obliged,  for 
want  of  bread,  to  till  their  fields,  until,  frequently, 
they  fell  exhausted  and  dying  under  the  toil  to  which 
they  were  unequal.  The  horrors  and  fearful  suffer- 
ings of  the  first  year  of  the  war  can  never  be  for- 
gotten by  the  people  of  that  generation."^ 

Bishop  Weaver's  father  was  about  six  feet  tall,  and 
quite  slender,  but  remarkably  active  when  young.  He 
possessed  a  robust  constitution ;  was  naturally  a  kind- 
hearted  man,  and,  as  a  result,  always  lived  peaceably 
with  his  neighbors.  He  was  a  farmer,  hence  at  this 
day  his  life  was  one  of  toil  and  exposure.  He  had 
the  reputation  among  his  neighbors  of  being  strictly 
honest  and  disposed  to  render  to  every  man  what  was 
his  due.  He  was  an  upright,  moral  man,  setting  a 
good  example  to  his  neighbors,  but  not  what  we  call 
religious.    He  was  careful,  however,  about  the  proper 

» Barker's  "Ohio  Methodism." 


28  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

observance  of  the  Sabbath,  and  taught  his  children 
to  be  the  same.  He  never  indulged  in  profane  lan- 
guage. He  was  in  every  respect  a  good,  faithful, 
honest  citizen.  He  was  somewhat  fond  of  books  and 
papers,  of  which  there  were  but  few  in  the  neighbor- 
hood, and  as  few  in  his  own  home.  He  was  not  so 
strong  intellectually  as  was  the  mother.  He  had 
quite  a  vein  of  humor  in  his  nature,  and  enjoyed 
the  little  jokes  made  by  others,  rather  than  any  of 
his  own  making.  He  was  quite  companionable  with 
his  children,  not  self-willed,  and  as  they  grew  older, 
he  would  advise  and  counsel  with  them,  and  often 
be  guided  by  their  advice.  He  was  converted  when 
about  sixty  years  of  age,  and  died  when  he  was  about 
sixty-three.  Previous  to  this  time,  however,  he  had 
lived  a  moral,  upright  life. 

The  mother  of  Bishop  Weaver  was  a  devout  woman, 
of  no  little  intellectual  vigor.  She  was  always  inclined 
to  religious  ways,  but  was  not  converted  until  about 
sixty  years  of  age.  She  was  always  a  faithful,  per- 
sistent Bible  reader.  She  was  thus  able  to  give  her  son 
much  insight  into  spiritual  meaning.  From  the  time 
of  her  conversion  until  her  death,  she  was  a  very  ear- 
nest, devoted  Christian,  and,  during  the  later  years 
of  her  life,  most  of  her  time  was  given  to  reading  and 
prayer.  After  her  conversion,  she  became  the  spir- 
itual director  of  the  family.  She  established  family 
worship,  and  aided  her  children,  both  by  her  teach- 
ing and  her  example.  The  children  would  aid  in  this 
worship  as  she  desired.  As  she  grew  older,  she  be- 
came hard  of  hearing,  so  she  would  read  the  Scrip- 


His  Ancestry  29 

ture  lesson,  and  the  children  would  take  turns  in 
praying.  She  was  a  kindly-dispositioned  woman, 
and  her  kindness  toward  the  son  was  very  remark- 
able, yet  in  his  early  boyhood  she  was  as  strict  aa 
a  faithful  mother  should  be,  and  required  implicit 
obedience. 

The  mother  died  May  9,  1867,  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
seven.  In  a  note  to  the  Telescope  concerning  her 
death.  Bishop  Weaver  says:  "Twenty  years  ago,  I 
took  leave  of  my  mother  and  her  home  to  enter  my 
first  field  of  labor.  Young  and  inexperienced,  I 
scarcely  knew  what  to  do.  What  my  feelings  were,  as 
mile  after  mile  was  left  betweem  myself  and  home,  I 
need  not  attempt  to  describe.  One  thing,  however, 
gave  me  consolation,  and  has  given  me  comfort  many 
a  time.  I  knew  that  one  who  lived  near  to  God  was 
praying  for  me.  Some  o^e  might  say  this  was  but 
a  trifle,  but  to  me  it  was  a  blessed  consolation.  Dur- 
ing these  twenty  years  that  I  have  spent  in  the  min- 
istry, I  have  always  held  sacred  in  my  memory  this 
thought,  'Mother  prays  for  me.'  You  may  call  me 
weak,  but  I  promise  to  go  to  my  grave  with  the  fond 
and  dearly  cherished  recollections  of  a  kind  Christian 
mother.  ...  I  do  not  claim  that  mother  was 
perfect,  but  this  I  will  say,  that  for  twenty  years  I 
have  not  seen  nor  heard  of  a  fault.  She  was  ac- 
quainted with  the  Holy  Scriptures  as  but  few  are. 
I  do  not  remember  ever  asking  for  a  passage  of  the 
Scriptures  but  that  she  could  turn  to  it  at  once." 

Into  this  family  were  bom  six  boys  and  six  girls, 
so  that  Bishop  Weaver  was  the  youngest  of  twelve 


30  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

children,  being  born  February  23,  1824.  All  of  them 
except  one  lived  to  manhood  and  womanhood.  All 
of  them  have  gone  to  the  world  beyond  except  the 
one  next  older  than  he,  the  widow  of  Rev.  E.  Slutts, 
living  at  Canaan  Center,  Ohio,  in  the  seventy-ninth 
year  of  her  age. 


CHAPTEK  IL 

A  Boy  in  School.— 1830-1840. 

Me.  Johnson,  who  was  the  representative  from 
Carroll  County,  where  Weaver  lived,  to  the  Ohio 
Legislature,  in  1838,  when  Weaver  was  fourteen 
years  of  age,  made  an  address  before  an  educational 
convention,  held  in  Columbus,  Ohio,  that  year,  from 
which  we  make  the  following  extract:  "I  well  re- 
member when  I  used  to  make  three  miles,  with  the 
snow  about  my  little  knees,  to  the  distant  schoolhouse. 
The  population  was  sparse  and  poor.  Our  school- 
house  was  built  of  logs,  without  glass  windows,  but 
with  plenty  of  inlets  between  the  logs  for  air  and 
light ;  our  chimney  was  of  wood.  It  always  took 
the  whole  time  of  one  boy  to  pile  on  fuel  enough  to 
keep  us  any  ways  warm,  and  the  whole  time  of  an- 
other to  pour  water  down  the  chimney  to  keep  the 
house  from  taking  fire.  Our  teacher  was  a  good 
man,  and  taught  us  all  he  knew ;  but  his  attainments 
were  not  great.  As  to  astronomy,  he  never  had  any 
other  idea  but  that  the  earth  was  as  flat  as  the  plate 
on  which  he  ate  his  breakfast ;  and  as  to  mathematics, 
the  diiference  between  the  numerator  and  denomina- 
tor of  a  vulgar  fraction  was  a  mystery  of  science  al- 
together beyond  his  depth.  His  plan  was  to  begin 
with  us  at  'booby'  in  the  spelling-book,  and  go  on 


32  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

with  us  regularly  to  the  story  of  the  'Fox  and  the 
Bramble.'  Then,  in  the  spring,  summer,  and  fall, 
we  were  all  set  to  work  in  the  bushes,  clearing  up  our 
farms,  and  before  the  next  winter's  school  began,  it 
was  invariably  found  that  we  had  all  slipped  back 
to  'booby'  again.  So  it  went  on  from  year  to  year, 
and  such  was  the  only  school,  and  such  the  only 
teacher  I  ever  enjoyed.  Well,  I  went  to  study  law 
with  a  gentleman  whom  I  now  see  in  this  assembly. 
But  my  teacher  was  a  worthy  man, — peace  to  his 
ashes, — and  it  was  only  last  autumn  that,  with  tears 
of  grateful  recollection,  I  put  fresh  sod  over  his 
grave.  But  all  the  people  now  expect  us  to  do  some- 
thing more  to  make  our  common  schools  efficient 
When  I  had  saddled  my  horse  to  come  to  this  session 
of  the  Legislature,  I  saw  an  old  gentleman  approach- 
ing me  who  could  neither  read  nor  write.  He  was 
one  of  my  constituents,  and,  seizing  my  hand,  he  ex- 
claimed, with  deepest  emotion:  'Do,  Johnson,  get 
something  done  for  the  school  laws;  let  us  have 
schools.  This  is  the  first  desire  of  the  people  of  my 
county,  and  they  are  ready  to  pay  the  expense.'  " 

In  1837,  a  State  School  Department  was  estab- 
lished, and  Hon.  Samuel  Lewis  became  the  first  State 
Superintendent.  The  most  authentic  history  of  the 
common  schools  of  Ohio,  from  1873  to  1840,  is  to  be 
found  in  the  three  annual  reports  of  Mr.  Lewis,  pub- 
lished under  legislative  authority. 

A  prominent  minister  of  this  Church,  who  was 
born  two  years  before  Mr.  Weaver,  and  not  many 
miles  away,  wrote,  in  his  old  age,  for  a  little  friend 


A  Boy  in  School  33 

of  his,  an  account  of  the  schoolhouse  where  he  went 
to  school.  When  this  description  was  read  to  Mr. 
Weaver,  he  said  it  was  a  very  correct  description  of 
the  time  when  he  received  the  rudiments  of  the  little 
that  he  knew. 

"The  schoolhouse  was  made  of  round  logs,  notched 
down  at  the  corners.  The  floor  was  made  of  punch- 
eons split  out  of  large  ash  trees,  as  wide  as  the  tree 
would  make  them,  and  hewed  by  a  broad-ax  on  one 
side,  and  dressed  on  the  edge  to  the  mark  of  a  straight- 
edge. The  fire-chamber  was  at  one  end  of  the  struc- 
ture, built  of  boulders,  or,  as  some  called  them,  'nig- 
ger heads,'  up  as  high  as  the  mantel,  then  a  crooked 
piece  of  timber,  forming  nearly  a  half-circle,  sup- 
ported by  one  end  on  a  beam,  same  width  of  cover- 
ing overhead,  and  the  other  on  a  log  of  the  house 
about  as  high  from  the  floor  as  a  twelve-year-old  boy's 
head  when  standing  erect.  From  these  supports  the 
main  chimney  started,  and  was  built  with  sticks  and 
mud  or  mixed  clay,  one  round  of  sticks  being  laid 
upon  another,  pressed  firm  in  the  mud,  and  plastered 
up  well,  inside  and  out,  covering  every  stick  to  pro- 
tect it  from  the  fire ;  the  stick  was  simply  to  support 
the  clay.  This  was  called  a  cat  (or  rat)  and  clay 
chimney.  The  place  for  the  fire  was  very  large,  the 
logs  of  the  building  all  being  sawed  off  from  jamb 
to  jamb,  and  half  as  high  tip  as  the  floor  over  our 
heads.  The  place  for  the  fire  was  all  beyond  the 
square  of  the  building,  and  the  large  boys  would  roll 
in  logs  three  feet  thick  and  full  length  of  the  fire- 
chamber,  and  another  of  less  size  on  that,  and  still 


34  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

another  smaller  one,  and  then,  added  to  these,  a  large- 
fire-stick,  with  ends  laid  on  the  rocks,  and  then 
smaller  pieces  piled  on  top,  until  it  seemed  like  a 
young  log  heap.  This  they  called  a  'rousing  fire,'  and 
so  it  was  sometimes,  when  the  front  foundations 
would  give  way,  and  down  it  would  come,  tumbling 
on  the  clay  hearth. 

"The  door  was  of  rough,  sawed  boards,  hung  on. 
wooden  hinges,  and  fastened  with  a  wooden  latch, 
and  would  always  report,  when  opened,  with  a  terrible 
screech.  On  the  opposite  side  from  the  door,  one 
log  was  cut  out  of  the  whole  length  of  the  building,, 
and  in  its  place  a  window  sash  in  several  sections, 
with  oiled  paper  in  the  place  of  glass.  This  was  to 
admit  the  light.  Then  the  carpenter  bored  holes 
in  the  first  log  below  the  w^indow,  and  drove  in  long 
pins  slanting  about  forty-five  degrees  down  from  the 
wall,  on  which  was  placed  a  broad  board,  and  this 
was  the  writing-desk  for  the  large  scholars.  There 
was  also  an  oiled-paper  window  in  the  end  opposite 
the  fire-chamber,  and  one  on  each  side  of  the  door. 
The  other  seats  were  made  of  slabs,  with  long  pins 
put  in  auger  holes,  the  pins  resting  on  the  floor,  and 
the  little  lads  and  lasses  sat  on  them,  with  no  backs 
except  their  own  to  support  them.  Occasionally,  a 
little  fellow's  back  would  give  way  when  he  was 
asleep,  and  he  would  go  back  on  the  floor.  This 
would  create  a  sensation  for  a  time,  and  relieve  us 
from  the  monotony  of  study.  These  rude  seats  were 
arranged  in  front  of  the  fire,  and  those  that  were 
first  had  the  good  of  the  fire.     This  building  was 


A  Boy  in,  School  35 

covered  with  'clapboards/  laid  on  straight  poles  called 
ribs,  and  held  to  their  place  by  other  poles  on  the 
top  called  weight  poles." 

Into  these  schoolhouses,  and  in  the  midst  of  these 
uncomfortable  surroundings,  came  the  boys  and  girls 
who  were  to  be  the  future  citizens  of  this  great  State, 
and  among  them  was  our  hero.  He  says,  in  referring 
to  these  earlier  years :  "Around  these  huge  fireplaces 
might  have  been  seen  from  thirty  to  forty  red  wam- 
muses,  each  boy  holding  in  his  hand  a  copy  of  the 
United  States  Spelling  Book,  or  else  had  his  A  B  C's 
pasted  on  a  paddle,  and  what  added  to  the  interest 
of  the  scene  was  the  cracking  of  the  whip  over  their 
backs,  causing  them  to  make  some  tremendous  jumps. 
(I  speak  from  experience.)  The  teachers  in  those 
days,  or  at  least  the  majority  of  them,  had  never 
been  through  what  was  then  the  standard  arithmetic, 
the  'Western  Calculator.'  Indeed,  it  was  not  neces- 
sary they  should,  for  when  a  young  man  had  ciphered 
to  the  'Single  Kule  of  Three,'  he  was  considered 
a  kind  of  graduate.  Spelling,  reading,  writing,  and 
arithmetic  were  all  the  teachers  pretended  to  teach. 
The  reading-books  were  the  spelling-book  and  the 
New  Testament" 

The  summer  school  was  usually  taught  by  some 
lady  who  could  be  had  for  a  moderate  sima.  She 
would  go  among  the  neighbors  with  a  paper,  termed 
a  subscription,  offering  to  teach  a  three-months'  school 
for  each  pupil.  If  more  than  one  pupil  came  from 
any  one  family,  there  was  usually  a  reduction  made 
in  proportion  to  the  number.    Because  of  this  method 


36  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

of  procedure,  this  was  called  a  "subscription  school." 
For  obvious  reasons,  this  was  only  patronized  by  the 
smaller  children.  Those  who  were  able  to  work  were 
needed  at  homa  The  people  were  farmers,  a  good 
portion  of  their  lands  even  yet  in  the  woods.  Trees 
had  to  be  cut  and  ground  cleared  and  prepared  for  the 
plow.  These  boys  and  girls  could  not  only  be  very 
helpful  in  such  work,  but  no  doubt  were  greatly 
needed.  There  could  be  no  luxuries  until  the  men 
were  able  to  live.  Ko  doubt,  in  the  minds  of  many 
of  these  people,  ability  to  read  a  little,  write  a  little, 
and  know  enough  of  arithmetic  to  keep  their  own  ac- 
counts, was  about  all  the  average  boy  needed.  The 
girls  did  not  need  as  much,  so  in  summer-time  the 
young  people  were  employed  in  developing  the 
farm. 

When  the  farm  work  was  done,  then  would  begin 
the  winter  school,  lasting,  possibly,  three  months. 
Many  of  the  children  could  not  be  sent  promptly 
for  lack  of  shoes,  clothes,  or  on  account  of  other  hin- 
drances. Because  of  work  to  be  done  at  home,  or 
distance  from  school,  they  would  not  be  on  hand  until 
ten  o'clock ;  many  would  be  irregular.  The  slightest 
reason  for  detaining  a  pupil  from  school  would  be 
sufficient.  Then  it  would  require  the  teacher,  if  a 
new  man,  and  it  was  usual  to  have  a  new  man  every 
term,  to  establish  his  rules  and  modes  of  instruction, 
which  were  generally  different  from  those  of  his 
predecessor,  so  as  to  show  that  he  had  a  plan  of  his 
own. 

In  teaching  the  alphabet,  it  was  customary  for  the 


A  Boy  in  School  37 

teacher  to  take  his  seat  and  point  to  the  letters  pre- 
cisely in  the  order  in  which  they  are  placed  in  the 
book.  If  the  pupil  could  name  the  letter,  well;  if 
not,  he  was  told  it.  To  teach  spelling,  a  lesson  was 
assigned  consisting  of  a  certain  number  of  columns 
of  words  arranged  in  alphabetical  order,  which  the 
pupil  was  required  to  study  over  and  over  until  he 
could  recollect  and  spell  them  from  memory.  None 
of  them  were  ever  defined  for  him,  nor  was  he  re- 
quested to  seek  for  definitions  himself.  No  faculty 
was  called  into  exercise  but  the  memory.  If  a  word 
was  misspelled,  the  next  pupil  who  could  spell  it  was 
allowed  to  take  his  place,  or  "go  above  him,"  as  it 
was  called.  He  who  was  at  the  head  of  the  class  at 
evening  had  a  credit  mark,  and  sometimes  a  written 
certificate  of  good  scholarship.  Emulation  and  com- 
pulsion were  the  only  motives  to  exertion. 

In  teaching  reading,  the  process  was  just  as  me- 
chanical. The  teacher  would  read  with  the  class  in 
turn.  Either  himself  or  some  of  the  advanced  pupils 
would  make  the  corrections.  This  meant  only  the 
right  pronunciation  of  words  and  attention  to  the 
pauses.  No  regard  was  paid  to  the  tones,  and  little 
to  emphasis  and  the  proper  inflections.  "Read  as 
you  talk"  was  a  rule  seldom  given,  and  less  frequently 
practiced. 

In  some  places,  the  reading  lesson  would  take  on 
more  importance.  "One  pupil  read  from  the  family 
Bible,  another  from  'Poor  Richard's  Almanac,'  while 
still  a  third  would  read  thrilling  passages  from  some 
highly-prized  volume,  such  as  Captain  John  Riley's 


38  Biography  of  Jonathan   Weaver 

narrative  of  a  shipwreck  and  captivity  among  the 
Arabs.  The  reader  of  the  last  chanced  to  possess 
some  elocutionary  power,  and  the  whole  school, 
teacher  included,  suspended  operations,  and,  with 
open  mouths  and  eyes,  listened  intently  to  the  inter- 
esting narrative.  Spelling  and  reading  were,  in  some 
places,  made  specialties,  and  were  regarded  as  the 
chief  tests  of  scholarship.  Spelling-matches  were 
second  only  in  importance  to  the  schools  themselves. 
These  were  usually  held  at  night,  and  were  attended 
by  old  and  young.  A  ride,  or,  more  frequently,  a 
walk  of  six  miles,  was  an  obstacle  easily  surmounted 
by  persons  wishing  to  enjoy  the  competition  or  wit- 
ness the  discomfiture  of  a  rival  school  when  its  best 
champion  was  spelled  down."^ 

Beginners  in  writing  usually  had  a  copy  of  straight 
marks.  Over  the  top  of  the  next  page,  the  teacher 
wrote  a  line  in  large  hand,  which  the  pupil  was  re- 
quired to  imitate.  One-half  of  a  page  of  foolscap 
was  then  a  common  task  in  writing.  The  copies  were 
in  alphabetical  order,  and  during  the  first  year  gen- 
erally of  a  coarse  hand. 

Arithmetic  was  taught  in  no  better  way.  Some- 
times the  teacher  wrote  problems  on  the  slate  for  the 
pupil  to  solve.  As  soon  as  old  enough  to  use  a  book, 
these  were  solved  on  the  slate,  and  carried  to  the 
teacher,  who  usually  asked,  "Did  you  get  the  an- 
swer?" and  if  the  response  was  in  the  affirmative, 
nothing  further  was  said.     No  explanation  of  the 

> "  Education  in  Ohio,"  p.  90. 


A  Boy  in  School  39 

principles  involved  or  methods  used  was  thought  to 
be  necessary. 

Henry  Ward  Beecher,  born  in  1813,  in  Connecti- 
cut, where  the  schools  were  infinitely  better  than 
those  attended  by  Mr.  Weaver,  a  score  of  years  later 
in  Ohio,  then  the  far  West,  leaves  this  memory  of 
his  experiences  in  the  district  school:  "We  read 
and  spelt  twice  a  day,  unless  something  happened 
to  prevent,  which  did  happen  almost  every  other  day. 
For  the  rest  of  the  time,  we  were  busy  in  keeping 
still,  and  a  time  we  always  had  of  it.  Our  shoes 
always  would  be  scraping  on  the  floor,  or  knocking 
the  shins  of  urchins  who  were  also  being  educated. 
All  of  our  little  legs  together  (poor,  tired,  nervous, 
restless  legs  with  nothing  to  do)  would  fill  up  the 
corner  with  such  a  noise,  that  every  ten  or  fifteen 
minutes  the  master  would  bring  down  his  two-foot 
hickory  ferule  on  the  desk  with  a  clap  that  sent  the 
shivers  through  our  hearts  to  think  how  that  would 
have  felt  if  it  had  fallen  somewhere  else;  and  then, 
with  a  look  that  swept  us  all  into  utter  extremity  of 
stillness,    he   would   cry,    'Silence   in   that   corner!' 

.  .  Besides  this,  our  principal  business  was  to 
shake  and  shiver  at  the  beginning  of  the  school  for 
very  cold,  and  to  sweat  and  stew  for  the  rest  of  the 
time  before  the  fervid  glances  of  a  great  fire. 

"A  woman  kept  the  school,  sharp,  precise,  unsym- 
pathetic, keen  and  untiring.  Of  all  ingenious  ways 
of  fretting  little  boys,  doubtless  her  ways  were  the 
most  expert.  Not  a  tree  to  shelter  the  house,  the  sun 
beat  down  on  the  shingles  and  clapboards  till  the  pine 


40  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

knots  shed  pitchy  tears.  The  desks  were  cut,  hacked, 
and  scratched;  but  if  we  cut  a  morsel,  or  stuck  in 
pins,  or  plucked  off  splinters,  the  little  sharp-eyed 
mistress  was  on  hand,  and  one  look  of  her  eye  was 
worse  than  a  sliver  in  our  foot,  and  one  rap  of  her 
fingers  was  equal  to  the  jab  of  a  pin,  for  we  had  tried 
both. 

"We  envied  the  flies — ^merry  fellows,  bouncing 
about,  tasting  that  apple-skin,  patting  away  at  that 
crumb  of  bread;  now  out  of  the  window,  then  in 
again;  on  your  nose,  on  neighbor's  cheek,  off  to  the 
very  schoolma'am's  lips ;  dodging  her  slap,  and  then 
telling  off  a  real  round-and-round  buzz,  up,  down, 
this  way,  that  way,  and  every  way.  The  windows 
were  so  high  we  could  not  see  the  grassy  meadows; 
but  we  could  see  the  tops  of  the  distant  trees  and 
the  far  deep,  boundless  blue  sky.  There  flew  the 
robins,  there  went  the  bluebirds,  and  there  went  we. 
We  followed  that  old  polyglot,  the  skunk  blackbird, 
and  heard  him  describe  the  way  that  they  talked  at 
the  winding  up  of  the  Tower  of  Babel.  We  thanked 
every  meadow-lark  that  sung,  rejoicing  as  it  flew. 
]^ow  and  then  a  chipping  bird  would  flutter  on  the 
very  window-sill,  turning  its  little  head  sidewise  and 
peering  on  the  medley  of  boys  and  girls.  Long  before 
we  knew  it  was  in  Scripture,  we  sighed,  'Oh,  that  we 
had  the  wings  of  a  bird ;  we  would  fly  away  and  be 
out  of  this  hateful  school.'  As  for  learning,  the  sum 
of  all  that  we  ever  got  at  a  district  school  would  not 
cover  the  first  ten  letters  of  the  alphabet.  One  good, 
kind,  story-telling,  Bible-rehearsing  aunt  at  home, 


A  Boy  in  School  41 

with  apples  and  gingerbread  premiums,  is  worth  all 
the  schoolma'ams  that  ever  stood  by  to  see  poor  lit- 
tle fellows  roast  in  those  boy-traps  called  district 
schools." 

The  teaching  of  the  schools  in  the  eastern  part  of 
Ohio,  was,  in  some  respects,  better  than  those  in 
the  southwestern  part,  because,  for  the  most  part, 
this  section  was  settled  by  people  from  !N'ew  Eng- 
land. Of  those  in  the  southwestern  part,  a  writer 
says:  "The  few  schools  established  in  this  section 
were  taught  by  cripples,  worn-out  old  men,  and 
women  physically  unable  or  constitutionally  too  lazy 
to  scotch  hemp  or  spin  flax.  Educational  sentiment 
was  at  a  low  ebb,  and  demanded  from  the  instructors 
of  children  no  higher  qualifications  than  could  be 
furnished  by  the  merest  tyro.  The  teacher  was  re- 
garded as  a  kind  of  pensioner  on  the  bounty  of  the 
people,  whose  presence  was  tolerated  only  because 
county  infirmaries  were  not  then  in  existence.  The 
capacity  of  a  teacher  to  teach  was  never  a  reason  for 
employing  him  ;  but  the  fact  that  he  could  do  nothing 
else  was  a  satisfactory  one.  The  people's  demand 
for  education  was  fully  met  when  their  children  could 
write  a  tolerably  legible  hand,  when  they  could  read 
the  Bible  or  an  almanac,  and  when  they  were  so  far 
inducted  into  the  mysterious  computation  of  num- 
bers as  to  be  able  to  determine  the  value  of  a  load 
of  farm  produce.  This  crude  instruction  was  deemed 
amply  sufiicient ;  more  than  this  was  regarded  as 
dangerous,  since  the  idea  had  gained  currency  that 
education  made  boys  lazy  and  tricky.     It  was  also 


42  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

a  popular  belief  that  young  ladies  who  were  apt  with 
pen  or  pencil  were  in  imminent  danger  of  falling 
an  easy  prey  to  some  designing  knave  who  might  en- 
trap them  by  an  epistolary  correspondence  which 
could  never  be  detected  by  an  illiterate  mother.  Girls 
seldom  learned  to  write. 

"The  mode  of  government  was  simple.  Moral 
suasion  was  not  recognized  by  the  early  schoolmaster 
as  an  important  element  in  school  management.  The 
neighboring  forests  were  filled  with  fine  sprouts 
which  were  regarded  as  just  the  thing  to  sharpen  the 
wits  and  brighten  the  moral  perceptions  of  a  pupil. 
Hickory  oil  was  known  to  be  a  good  lubricator  for 
the  mental  friction  of  a  schoolboy,  and  its  use  in  lib- 
eral quantities  by  the  master  or  mistress  was  rarely 
the  subject  of  complaint  or  criticism  on  the  part  of 
parents." 

Bishop  Weaver  says  of  his  early  experience  with 
his  teachers:  "They  did  not  know  very  much,  and 
thought  they  could  do  as  they  pleased.  Punishments 
were  severe ;  there  did  not  seem  to  be  much  notion  of 
governing  except  through  punishment.  Striking  on 
the  open  hand  with  a  ruler  was  one  of  those  severe 
and  improper  methods." 

Such  inferior  service  from  incompetent  persons  did 
not  receive  very  high  compensation.  The  wages  were 
from  seven  and  one-half  to  ten  dollars  per  month, 
and  the  teacher  boarded  at  the  homes  of  the  pupils. 
Tn  later  years,  the  bishop  himself  taught  school  for  a 
few  terms  at  ten  dollars  per  month,  and  boarded  at 
the  homes  of  his  pupils.     When  the  boarding  was 


A  £oy  in  School  43 

good  and  associations  pleasant,  he  would  tarry  longer ; 
when  not  so  good,  he  would  hurry  away  as  soon  as 
due  courtesy  would  allow. 

Such  is  a  picture  of  the  condition  of  education 
throughout  the  rural  districts  of  Ohio  when  Bishop 
Weaver  was  born ;  it  was  not  much,  if  any  better  dur- 
ing his  school  years.  A  little  better  conditions  were 
found  in  the  larger  towns  of  the  State.  All  schools 
were  supported  by  the  voluntary  contributions  of  the 
people,  as  no  tax  had  been  authorized  by  the  General 
Assembly,  and  as  the  lands  donated  for  the  support 
of  schools  had  not  yet  produced  any  revenue. 

Into  some  such  schools  as  these  already  described 
came  our  subject,  and  spent  such  a  portion  of  the 
time  as  could  be  spared  from  the  farm.  When  we 
come  to  think  of  the  poor  accommodations  and  in- 
competent teachers,  and  the  inefficient  teaching,  the 
utter  lack  of  any  natural  method  of  awakening  and 
guiding  the  young  mind,  we  almost  wonder  that  one 
learned  anything.  When  we  think  of  the  absence  of 
books  and  papers,  which  were  seldom  seen  and  more 
seldom  owned  by  the  common  farmer,  and  which  make 
up  our  very  life  to-day,  we  know  how  barren  their 
life  must  have  been.  There  seems  to  have  been  so 
little  to  satisfy  their  mental  hunger,  and  yet,  when 
teachers  and  others  fail,  God  often  finds  a  way  to 
arrest  our  thought,  develop  and  guide  our  energies, 
and  fit  us  for  the  work  he  has  in  store  for  us.  Some- 
times he  speaks  to  us  from  the  trees,  the  flowers,  the 
animals,  and  the  inanimate  world  about  us;  some- 
times from  the  stars,  sometimes  from  the  longings  of 


44  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

our  natures — an  irrepressible  desire  to  know  some- 
thing. While  the  reading  may  have  been  poor,  yet 
the  thoughts  read,  one  or  more,  may  have  aroused 
inquiry  and  stimulated  the  young  mind  to  seek  for 
information  from  other  sources.  The  contests  in  the 
classes,  the  desire  for  leadership  on  the  playground, 
the  constant  associations  for  a  shorter  or  longer  time 
with  this  throbbing  young  life,  would  widen  to  some 
extent  the  boy's  view  of  life,  reveal  to  him  more  and 
more  its  possibilities,  show  him  something  of  the  dif- 
ficulties to  be  overcome,  and  make  him  anxious  to 
test  in  other  fields  the  powers  with  which  God  had 
gifted  him. 

Our  subject  was,  no  doubt,  an  average  youth,  and, 
with  his  fun-loving  disposition,  would  be  as  ready  to 
play  pranks  as  any.  By  his  own  confessions,  he  re- 
ceived his  share  of  the  punishments  meted  out  to 
supposed  culprits.  This  period  of  public  school,  with 
four  months  later  spent  in  a  Presbyterian  academy 
at  Hagerstown,  Ohio,  made  up  the  sum  total  of  this 
kind  of  scholarship.  It  was  not  all  he  wanted,  but 
all  he  could  get  under  the  circumstances,  and,  poor 
as  it  was,  it  was  the  best  that  was  offered,  and  was 
as  good  as  others  received.  In  1801,  a  French  satir- 
ist proposed  a  "plan  for  prohibiting  the  alphabet  to 
women,"  and  he  urged  his  case  with  no  little  force 
and  pungency.  T.  W.  Higginson,  in  a  magazine  ar- 
ticle written  in  1859,  on  the  topic,  "Should  Women 
Learn  the  Alphabet?"  says:  "It  would  seem  that 
the  brilliant  Frenchman  touched  the  root  of  the  mat- 
ter, 'Ought  women  learn  the  alphabet  V     There  the 


A  Boy  in  School  45 

whole  question  lies.  Concede  this  little  fulcrum,  and 
Archimedes  will  move  the  world  before  she  is  done 
with  it.  It  becomes  merely  a  question  of  time.  Re- 
sistance must  be  made  here  or  nowhere."  So  what- 
ever else  our  schoolboy  learned,  or  did  not  learn,  he 
had  learned  the  alphabet ;  he  knew  how  to  read,  and, 
with  that  key  to  knowledge,  all  the  great  treasures  of 
literature  stowed  away  in  the  temple  of  knowledge 
were  at  his  control.  He  had  only  to  enter  in  and 
possess  the  land.  The  result  showed  that  he  improved 
his  opportunity. 


CHAPTER  III. 
His  Conveksion. 

In  his  earlier  years,  the  bishop's  father  was  a  well- 
to-do  farmer,  and  in  his  day  was  considered  in  good 
circumstances.  By  becoming  security  for  some  of  his 
neighbors,  he  lost  nearly  all  he  had.  Because  of  this, 
the  family  moved  away  from  the  old  homestead,  and, 
coming  into  a  new  community,  were  surrounded  by 
new  environments.  This  would  seem  to  have  been  a 
great  misfortune,  but,  in  later  years,  the  son  said: 
"This  affliction  proved  a  blessing  to  me.  Many  a  time 
I  have  thanked  God  for  what  seemed  at  the  time  a 
great  misfortune.  But  for  that,  I  do  not  know  that 
any  of  my  father's  family  would  have  come  to 
Christ." 

While  his  parents  were  not  Christians,  they  were 
good  moral  people,  whose  example  and  teaching 
would  more  or  less  influence  the  son  in  the  same  di- 
rection. In  early  life,  as  most  of  us  do,  perhaps,  he 
felt  the  need  of  living  a  better  life.  The  quiet  in- 
fluence of  the  Spirit  in  his  heart  would  show  him 
he  was  not  what  he  ought  to  be,  but  just  then  he  did 
not  know  how  to  be  better.  He  never  went  to  church 
or  to  Sunday  school  until  fifteen  years  of  age.  There 
were  eleven  other  children  in  his  father's  family,  all 
older    than    he,    but    none    of    these    could    teach 

46 


His  Conversion  47 

him,  for  they  were  not  Christians  themselves.  The 
people  were  scattered.  The  visits  of  ministers  were 
few,  and  when  they  came,  it  was  usually  on  week- 
day evenings.  He  says:  "We  spent  our  Sundays 
during  the  summer  months  wandering  about  the 
fields,  in  the  woods,  and  along  the  small  streams  of 
water.  ITot  once  a  year  did  we  have  a  service  on  the 
Lord's  day."  Church  buildings  were  few,  and,  for 
the  most  part,  services  were  held  in  private  houses. 
Tired  with  the  labor  and  drudgery  of  the  farm,  (for 
to  support  such  a  family  the  services  of  all  were 
needed,)  he  would  not  be  in  good  condition  to  profit 
by  the  preaching.  No  doubt,  but  little  of  it  was  in- 
tended for  him,  for  the  common  impression  of  the 
ministry  of  the  day  was  that  such  boys  were  too  young 
to  begin  the  divine  life. 

Having  lived  along  in  this  uncertain  condition 
until  about  seventeen  years  of  age,  his  father  per- 
mitted him  to  go  a  few  miles  from  home  to  attend  a 
camp-meeting,  near  Conotton,  Harrison  County,  con- 
ducted by  A.  Biddle,  presiding  elder.  These  camp- 
meetings  became  very  popular  agencies  for  the  spread 
of  the  gospel.  "A  majority  of  the  people  within  an 
area  of  forty  or  fifty  miles  square  would  assemble  to 
hear  sermons  of  the  highest  order,  directed  especially 
to  the  awakening  and  conversion  of  souls.  The  camp- 
meeting  pulpits  uttered  forth  sermons  of  surpassing 
power,  and  strong  and  mighty  appeals  were  made  to 
the  unconverted,  which  resulted  in  the  conversion 
of  thousands  of  souls.  The  camp-meeting  fire  spread 
as  the  people  returned  home,  and  revivals  broke  out 


48  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

in  various  localities."  He  had  never  seen  such  a 
meeting  before,  and  had  no  special  aim  in  going,  ex- 
cept to  have  a  little  recreation,  and  to  see  what  was 
done  at  such  gatherings.  He  had  never  seen  what 
was  called  a  "mourner's  bench,"  but  had  heard  of  it 
from  others,  and  had  some  conception  of  what  it 
meant.  So  far  as  he  understood  the  matter,  he  had 
no  doubt  as  to  the  truth  of  revealed  religion,  but 
he  had  no  clearly  defined  idea  of  what  was  meant 
by  a  life  of  devotion  to  God,  nor  how  that  life  could 
be  entered  upon.  His  mother  was  a  devoted  reader 
of  the  Bible,  and  her  conversation  with  him  concern- 
ing it  had  given  him  a  great  reverence  for  the  Scrip- 
tures. This  likely  saved  him  from  many  doubts 
which  he  otherwise  might  have  had. 

This  camp-meeting  in  a  new  section  of  country, 
where  they  were  somewhat  of  a  rarity,  would  bring  a 
good  attendance  of  people.  William  Burke,  a  pioneer 
Methodist  Episcopal  preacher  in  the  early  part  of 
the  nineteenth  century,  held  a  meeting  of  this  kind 
at  Cane  Eidge,  not  far  from  Cincinnati.  The  his- 
torian says :  "It  was  estimated  that  on  Sunday  and 
Sunday  night  there  were  twenty  thousand  people  on 
the  ground.  They  had  come  from  far  and  near,  from 
all  parts  of  Kentucky,  some  from  Tennessee,  and 
from  north  of  the  Ohio  Eiver,  so  that  the  doings  of 
Cane  Ridge  meeting  were  carried  to  almost  every 
corner  of  the  country,  and  the  holy  fire  spread  in  all 
directions."  It  was  conducted  in  the  usual  manner 
by  singing,  praying,  preaching,  and  shouting.  The 
first  time  the  mourner's  bench  was  put  out,  and  an 


His  Conversion  49 

invitation  given,  Weaver  went  forward.  We  take 
it,  that  this  was,  in  part,  due  to  his  mother,  who,  while 
making  no  public  profession  of  religion,  was  evi- 
dently living  a  good,  if  not,  indeed,  a  religious  life. 
The  Spirit,  who  has  all  resources  at  his  command, 
was,  no  doubt,  probably  unconsciously  to  the  boy  him- 
self, working  upon  his  heart,  maybe  through  the 
truth  he  had  read,  or  heard  from  the  lips  of  the  min- 
ister, or  by  a  reminder  that  his  life  was  not  what  it 
should  be,  and  that  it  ought  to  be  bettered.  More 
than  once  he  had  brooded  over  these  things,  and  at 
this  time  an  awakened  conscience  prompted  to  a 
formal  step.  ISTo  one  asked  him  to  go,  and  he  could 
hardly  tell  himself  why  he  went.  He  did  not  know 
what  to  do  when  he  got  there.  He  had  felt  for  some 
time  that  he  should  do  something,  but  what  that  some- 
thing was,  he  did  not  know.  This  was  the  first  op- 
portunity he  ever  had  had,  and  he  improved  it.  He 
was  not  converted  at  that  time,  but,  on  the  following 
day,  he  joined  the  United  Brethren  Church  as  a 
seeker. 

He  had  great  fear  when  he  returned  home  from 
camp-meeting  that  his  father,  who  was  not  a  Chris- 
tian, would  be  displeased  with  his  course.  He  deter- 
mined that,  if  possible,  he  would  work  harder  and 
be  more  diligent  than  ever  before,  so  that  his  father 
would  have  no  justifiable  reason  to  find  fault  with 
him  because  of  the  step  he  had  taken.  He  thought 
probably  his  father  would  not  hear  of  it.  One  day, 
as  they  were  at  work  in  the  barn,  all  of  a  sudden  his 
father  said  to  him,  "Jonathan,  I  understand  you  have 


50  biography  of  Jonathan  ^Weaver 

joined  church."  It  went  through  him  like  a  knife,, 
and  what  was  coming  next  he  did  not  know.  Finally 
his  father  spoke  again,  "Well,  as  you  have  started,  I 
want  you  to  stick  to  it." 

This  gave  him  great  courage.  A  few  months  after 
this,  an  aged  local  preacher,  named  Price,  came,  de- 
siring to  hold  a  two-days'  meeting  in  his  father'^ 
homa  The  father  did  not  oppose  it,  but,  for  some 
reason,  was  not  much  in  sympathy  with  it.  The  sec- 
ond evening,  the  old  preacher  put  out  the  mourner'a 
bench,  and  Jonathan  went  forward.  Before  the  meet- 
ing was  over,  possibly  the  same  night  or  the  next, 
some  of  his  brothers  and  sisters  also  went  fonvard  as 
seekers ;  soon  his  father  and  mother  knelt  by  his  side. 
They  were  converted  before  he  was.  He  went  for- 
Avard  as  a  seeker  seventeen  different  times,  and  it  was 
six  months  from  the  time  he  started  at  the  camp- 
meeting  until  he  had  the  courage  to  confess  that  he 
was  saved.  This  occurred  at  a  prayer-meeting  held 
in  a  little  log  cabin,  the  home  of  a  Mr.  Wolfe.  It 
was  about  midnight.  Prayer-meetings  in  those  days 
often  lasted  until  midnight,  and  many  souls  were  con- 
verted at  these  meetings.  At  times  he  would  grow 
discouraged,  but  his  father's  words,  "Stick  to  it," 
would  put  new  energy  into  him.  This  long  struggle 
grew  out  of  the  fact  that  he  knew  so  little  about  the 
first  principles  of  religion,  and  had  no  one  to  give 
him  the  proper  instruction.  At  this  period,  there 
was  not  a  Christian  in  the  family.  Within  a  year 
from  the  time  he  started,  his  parents,  two  of  his 
brothers,  and  four  of  his  sisters  were  members  of 


His  Conversion  51 

the  church,  with  himself.  This  made  a  wonderful 
change  in  affairs  at  home.  His  parents  were  now  in 
their  sixtieth  year. 

George  D.  Stoneffer,  of  Canal  Dover,  Ohio,  says: 
"The  first  time  I  ever  saw  J.  Weaver  was  in  October, 
1841,  at  a  little  chapel  in  Stark  County,  four  miles 
from  Massillon.  He  was  then  quite  a  young  man, 
very  tall,  and  had  black  hair.  I  met  him  at  the 
altar,  but  did  not  know  who  he  was.  He  was  very 
much  interested  about  his  soul's  salvation.  I  prayed 
with  him,  but  did  not  see  him  converted,  though  he 
Avas  converted  soon  after.  I  did  not  see  him  again, 
until  I  met  him  at  the  conference  at  Crooked  Run, 
Ohio,  probably  some  five  years  after,  when  he  came 
to  get  license  to  preach;  have  been  intimately  ac- 
quainted with  him  ever  since." 

With  the  sheep  few  and  scattered  as  they  were,  a 
young  man  of  such  promise  would  soon  be  called  into 
active  service.  A  little  class  was  organized,  and,  at 
the  age  of  nineteen,  he  was  elected  leader,  and  served 
in  this  capacity  for  two  years.  At  twenty,  he  was 
given  license  to  exhort.  With  this  license,  he  was 
pressed  to  assist  on  a  circuit  for  a  time.  From  the 
time  he  joined  the  church,  he  felt  that  some  time  he 
ought  to  be  a  minister  of  the  gospel.  The  thought 
alarmed  him  at  first,  for  he  had  no  preparation  for 
such  a  work.  His  first  exhortations  and  sermons  were 
prepared,  not  in  the  study,  with  good  books  all  around 
him,  but  between  the  plow  handles  on  his  father's 
farm,  Now  and  then  he  would  go  into  the  woods 
and  deliver  his  exhortations  beforehand  to  the  trees 


52  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

and  rocks.  As  he  was  the  youngest  member  of  his 
father's  family,  when  he  mentioned  anything  about 
the  matter,  he  was  greatly  encouraged  by  his  older 
brothers.  Once  he  ventured  to  name  it  to  his  pastor, 
but  he  gave  him  no  encouragement  He  said,  "It  is 
all  your  own  notion  about  preaching."  But  his  fa- 
ther's words,  "Stick  to  it,"  came  to  his  mind  again 
and  again,  and  so  he  persevered.  Pastors  should  not 
be  too  rash  in  speaking  to  young  men  concerning  such 
important  mattors. 

Some  twenty  years  after  this  time,  he  visited  Rev. 
A.  Biddle,  who  had  been  the  presiding  elder  when 
he  was  licensed,  and  to  whom  he  pays  the  following 
deserved  tribute: 

"I  recently  had  the  pleasure  of  spending  the  night 
with  this  dear  brother.  He  is  now  in  feeble  health. 
In  our  conversation,  I  was  carried  back  to  other 
years,  when  he  preached  at  my  father's  house.  From 
him  I  received  license  to  exhort,  and,  later,  to  preach, 
and  to  him  I  am  indebted  more  than  to  any  other 
man.  His  words  of  counsel  and  instruction  did  very 
much  toward  keeping  me  in  the  way.  His  hair  has 
grown  gray  and  his  eyes  dim  in  the  service  of  the 
Church,  yet  still  he  has  much  of  the  fire  of  life  in  his 
heart,  and  it  requires  a  greater  conflict  of  mind  to 
keep  him  out  of  the  field  than  it  did  to  enter  it. 
There  are  many  souls  in  heaven  and  many  on  the  way 
that  were  bom  to  Christ  through  his  instrumentality. 
Neither  age  nor  long  years  of  labor  have  divorced 
his  heart  from  the  interests  of  the  Church.  He  will 
go  to  his  grave  praying  for  the  prosperity  of  our 


His  Co7iversio7i  53 

Zion.  In  regard  to  our  educational  work,  he  is  in 
full  sympathy  with  us,  and,  what  is  better  than  words, 
shows  his  faith  by  his  works.  Thank  God  that  we 
have  old  men  with  green  hearts." 

In  his  later  years,  he  wrote  to  a  friend  concerning 
his  entrance  to  the  ministry,  as  follows :  ''There  was 
no  sudden  impulse  to  enter  the  ministry,  nor  was 
there  anything  in  my  surroundings  that  suggested  it. 
The  impression  came  gradually,  growing  stronger  as 
time  passed  by.  I  felt  my  unfitness  for  such  an  im- 
portant work;  but,  in  some  way,  everything  else 
seemed  to  close  up.  I  felt  a  deep  interest  in  the 
cause  of  Christ  in  general,  and  the  salvation  of  souls 
in  particular,  and  often  found  myself  exhorting  the 
unsaved,  when  in  the  field  alone.  Thus,  step  by  step, 
I  was  led  along,  until  there  seemed  to  be  no  other 
road  open." 

He  knew  he  did  not  have  the  mental  furnishing 
that  he  should  have  for  such  a  work,  but  what  could 
he  do  ?  The  family  were  poor  and  not  able  to  help 
him.  His  mother  aided  him  a  little,  and,  with  some 
money  that  he  earned  himself,  he  received  a  term 
of  four  months  at  a  Presbyterian  academy  located 
at  Hagerstown,  Ohio.  This  gave  him  a  little  wider 
outlook,  and  helped  him  to  form  some  better  habits  cf 
study.  To  add  to  this,  he  had  no  encouragement  from 
the  older  ministers  of  the  conference.  They  had  had 
no  college  training  in  their  earlier  years,  and  thought 
that  he  knew  as  much  as  they  when  they  started,  and 
no  doubt  he  did.  He  would  preach  to  the  people  in  the 
rural  districts,  who  were  uncultured,  and  would  not 


54  Biogra'phy  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

demand  as  much  of  him  as  the  people  of  the  city,  who 
confessedly  had  more  advantages.  Then,  while  he 
was  waiting  to  receive  a  higher  education,  which  he 
did  not  need,  imsaved  souls  were  going  down  to  death, 
whom  he  could  save  if  in  the  field.  How  many  of 
us,  in  our  earlier  years,  have  heard  the  same  argu- 
ments, and  how  few  young  men  of  the  earlier  times 
could  withstand  them  when  pressed  with  the  sincerity 
and  zeal  and  earnestness  which  the  fathers  mani- 
fested !  He  had  good  healtli,  a  strong  voice,  a  good 
supply  of  zeal,  all  desirable  qualifications  in  a 
preacher,  and  whatever  else  he  needed  the  Holy 
Spirit  would  supplement 

Luckily  for  him,  at  this  time  he  had  a  thirst  for 
knowledge,  and  used  every  opportunity  to  add  to  his 
little  store.  Books  were  scarce,  but  he  could  borrow, 
and  now  and  then  buy  one.  He  read  and  studied 
more  or  less  when  at  his  daily  work.  His  youngest 
sister  was  married  to  a  young  minister  (Rev.  E. 
Slutts),  and,  by  his  help,  he  obtained  some  light  on 
the  doctrines  of  the  gospel.  Among  his  earlier  books 
were  Buck's  "Theological  Dictionary,"  Dr.  Thomas 
Dick's  works,  Watson's  "Institutes,"  and  Clark's 
"Commentary."  He  was  charmed  with  Dr.  Dick,  as 
what  boy  who  has  read  his  writings  has  not  been,  not 
alone  for  the  information  imparted,  but  for  the  fresh- 
ness of  his  style  of  writing  ?  Later  came  Fletcher  and 
Baxter  and  Mosheim,  with  some  additional  books  of 
history  and  poetry  which  came  within  his  reach. 

One  of  the  biographers  of  President  Lincoln  tells 
this  anecdote  concemins;  him :     Before  his  nomina- 


His  Conversion  55 

tion  for  the  Presidency,  he  visited  the  New  England 
States  and  lectured  in  a  number  of  their  cities  and 
towns.  A  gentleman  who  heard  him  in  Norwich, 
Connecticut,  was  struck  with  his  logical  power,  and, 
the  next  day,  riding  in  the  same  car  with  him  to  New 
Haven,  said  to  him,  "Mr.  Lincoln,  I  was  delighted 
with  your  lecture  last  evening."  "Oh,  thank  you, 
but  that  was  not  much  of  a  lecture ;  I  can  do  better 
than  that."  "I  do  not  doubt  it;  and  now  I  am  dis- 
posed to  ask  you  how  you  acquired  your  wonderful 
logical  power.  I  have  heard  that  you  are  entirely 
self-educated.  How  did  you  acquire  such  an  acute 
power  of  analysis  ?"  "I  will  tell  you ;  it  was  my  ter- 
rible discouragement  which  did  that  for  me."  "  Your 
discouragement — what  do  you  mean  ?"  "You  see," 
said  Mr.  Lincoln,  in  reply,  "when  I  was  a  young 
man,  I  went  into  an  office  to  study  law.  Well,  after 
a  little  while  I  saw  that  a  lawyer's  business  was 
largely  to  prove  things,  and  I  said  to  myself,  'Lin- 
coln, when  is  a  thing  proved  V  That  was  a  poser. 
I  could  not  answer  that  question.  What  constitutes 
proofs  Not  evidence ;  that  was  not  the  point.  There 
may  be  evidence  enough,  but  wherein  consists  the 
proof  ?  You  remember  the  old  story  of  the  German, 
who  was  tried  for  some  crime,  and  they  brought  half 
a  dozen  reputable  men  who  swore  they  saw  the  pris- 
oner commit  the  crime.  'Veil,'  he  replies,  'vat  of 
dot  ?  Six  men  schwears  dot  dey  saw  me  do  it.  I 
pring  more  nor  two  tozen  goot  men  who  schwears 
dey  did  not  see  me  do  it.'  I  groaned  over  the  ques- 
tion, 'Where  is  the  proof  ?'  and  finally  said  to  myself. 


56  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

'Lincoln,  you  can't  tell.  AVhat  use  for  you  to  be  in 
a  lawyer's  oflSce  if  you  can't  tell  when  a  thing  is 
proved  ?  So  I  left  the  office  and  went  back  home, 
over  in  Kentucky."  "So  you  gave  up  the  law?" 
"No;  your  conclusion  is  not  logical.  Really,  I  did 
give  up  the  law,  and  I  thought  I  should  never  go  back 
to  it.  This  was  in  the  fall  of  the  year.  Soon  after 
I  returned  to  the  old  log  cabin,  I  fell  in  with  a  copy 
of  Euclid.  I  had  not  the  slightest  notion  what  Euclid 
was,  and  so  thought  I  would  find  out.  I  did  find 
out,  but  it  was  no  easy  job.  I  looked  into  the  book, 
and  found  it  was  all  about  lines,  angles,  surfaces, 
and  solids,  but  I  could  not  understand  it  at  all.  I 
therefore  began  very  deliberately  at  the  beginning. 
I  learned  the  definitions  and  axioms.  I  demonstrated 
the  first  proposition.  I  said,  That  is  simple  enough. 
I  went  on  to  the  next,  and  the  next,  and  before  spring 
I  had  gone  through  that  old  Euclid's  geometry,  and 
could  demonstrate  every  proposition  like  a  book.  I 
knew  it  all  from  beginning  to  end.  You  could  not 
stick  me  on  the  hardest  of  them.  Then,  in  the  spring 
I  had  got  through  with  it,  I  said  to  myself,  one  day, 
'Do  you  know  now  when  a  thing  is  proved  ?'  I  an- 
swered, out  loud,  'Yes,  sir,  I  do.'  'Then  you  may 
go  back  to  the  law  shop,'  and  I  went."  "So  you  dug 
your  logical  acumen  out  of  geometry  ?"  "Yes,  sir, 
I  did;  often  by  the  light  of  pitch  pine-knots,  but  I 
got  it.  Nothing  but  geometry  will  t^ach  you  the 
power  of  abstract  reasoning.  Only  that  will  tell  you 
when  a  thing  is  proved." 

So  our  ecclesiastical  Lincoln,  resembling  the  orig- 


His  Co7iversion  57 

inal  in  more  respects  than  one,  could  not  go  to  col- 
lege, but  he  knew  how  to  read,  and  having  learned 
how  to  think,  what  more  did  he  need  except  to  keep 
on  reading  and  thinking  ?  He  says :  "I  did  not  read 
as  many  books  as  others.  I  conceived  the  notion  that 
reading  was  good,  but  thinking  was  better.  As  a 
rule,  I  have  read  books  for  reference  more  than  for 
anything  else.  In  this  way  they  have  been  very  help- 
ful to  me.  It  is  my  opinion  that  a  good  many  people 
read  too  many  books,  more  than  they  can  digest,  and 
the  result  is,  their  ideas  are  confused.  If  they  had 
read  fewer  books,  and  thought  more,  they  would  be 
stronger  and  clearer.  I  believe  in  reading  good  books, 
but  not  too  many.  The  best  books  have  been  written 
by  the  best  thinkers.  What  little  strength  I  have  is 
largely  due  to  the  habit  of  thinking  I  formed  in  early 
life.  Mr.  Roberts  says,  'The  man  who  has  learned 
to  think  well  and  rightly  need  never  to  be  alone,  for 
he  can  people  solitude  and  cheer  the  dreams  of  night 
with  bright  and  pure  thoughts.' " 


CHAPTER  IV. 

A  Pkeachek  in  Charge. 

So  FAK  as  known,  the  first  United  Brethren  so- 
ciety organized  in  the  West  was  near  Germantown, 
Ohio,  in  1806,  at  the  home  of  A.  Zeller,  who  later 
became  one  of  the  bishops  of  the  United  Brethren 
Church.  Others  followed  later  in  the  Scioto  Valley. 
In  1810,  a  conference  was  organized  by  Bishop  !N"ew- 
comer,  at  which  there  were  present  probably  fifteen 
persons.  In  1818,  Muskingum  Conference  was  or- 
ganized, with  six  preachers  as  members.  This  was 
at  the  home  of  Joseph  ISTaftzgar,  in  Harrison  County. 
In  1822,  Jacob  Baulus,  a  preacher  of  great  ability, 
came  from  Maryland  and  settled  near  Fremont, 
Ohio,  in  what  was  known  as  the  Black  Swamp. 
Through  his  faithful  efforts,  classes  were  formed, 
so  that,  in  1829,  it  was  recognized  as  Sandusky  Cir- 
cuit. Soon  thereafter,  Muskingum  Conference  sent 
John  Zahn  as  preacher  under  Baulus  as  presiding 
elder.  This  conference  continued  to  supply  it, 
though  one  hundred  miles  from  the  nearest  appoint- 
ment, until  May  12,  1834,  when  Sandusky  Confer- 
ence was  organized  at  the  home  of  Philip  Bretz,  on 
Honey  Creek,  Seneca  County.     There  were  twenty 


A  Preaclier  in  Charge  59 

preachers  present  In  1849,  Muskingum  Conference 
is  credited  with  having  sixtj-one  preachers  present, 
local  and  traveling,  twenty-eight  circuits,  and  4,300 
members. 

The  Church  historian,  speaking  of  the  year  1847, 
says:  "During  this  year  the  whole  nation  was  im- 
mersed more  or  less  in  the  spirit  of  war.  A  bloody 
war  was  kept  up  between  the  United  States  and 
Mexico,  in  which  harder  battles  were  fought,  and  per- 
haps more  lives  lost  than  in  the  American  Revolu- 
tion. This  state  of  things  affected  materially  the  in- 
terests of  Zion.  Recruiting  officers  were  found  in 
all  the  towns  and  villages  from  Maine  to  Georgia, 
on  wxek  days  and  on  Sundays,  beating  up  for  volun- 
teers. The  church,  to  a  great  extent,  drank  in  the 
same  spirit.  Many  church-members,  and  even  offi- 
cers, such  as  leaders,  exhorters,  stewards,  etc.,  volun- 
teered to  go  to  the  field  of  carnage.  In  one  or  two 
instances,  preachers  of  the  United  Brethren  Church 
volunteered,  and  actually  went.  In  view  of  this  state 
of  things,  it  may  well  be  imagined  that  this  year 
was  not  replete  with  the  outpourings  of  the  Holy 
Spirit.  There  were  some  few  revivals  in  the  church, 
but,  comparatively,  they  were  few  and  not  very  ex- 
tensive. The  spirit  of  war  and  the  weekly  news  from 
the  scenes  of  deadly  strife  appeared  to  absorb  all 
other  interests."' 

In  February,  1847,  the  year  in  which  Otterbein 
University  was  chartered,  Mr.  Weaver  joined  Mus- 
kingum Conference,  at  the  session  held  in  Union 

•Hanby's  "U.  B.  Church  History." 


60  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

Chapel,  Stark  County,  Ohio,  Bishop  Riissel  presid- 
ing. 

Concerning  his  admission  to  conference,  a  lady 
at  Canal  Dover,  in  a  private  letter,  cbmmunicates  the 
following:  "^In  the  year  1846,  the  annual  confer- 
ence was  held  in  a  little  log  church  in  the  valley  of 
Crooked  Run,  and  the  name  of  J.  Weaver  was  pre- 
sented as  an  applicant  for  license  to  preach,  but  was 
rejected.  William  Hanby  presided,  assisted  by  A. 
Biddle.  Eight  years  later,  word  came  to  Crooked 
Run  that  Rev.  Mr.  Weaver  was  presiding  elder  for 
that  year,  but  no  one  thought  of  him  as  the  person 
who  had  been  declined  at  the  conference  held  there 
years  before.  Solomon  Weaver  had  been  through 
there,  and  they  were  more  or  less  acquainted  with 
him,  and  knew  the  presiding  elder  was  his  brother. 
The  time  came  for  the  quarterly  meeting,  and  with 
it  came  the  elder,  who  stopped  at  my  grandfather's 
(Frederick  Wills)  for  dinner.  After  some  remarks 
had  been  made.  Weaver  said  to  his  host,  'Do  you 
remember  ever  seeing  me  before?'  The  man  an- 
swered, 'I  don't  remember  that  I  ever  did.'  Weaver 
asked  him  further,  'Do  you  remember  the  conference 
down  here  eight  years  ago  ?'  'Yes,  I  remember  that 
very  well,'  was  the  reply.  'Do  you  remember  a  boy 
who  was  present  and  applied  for  license  at  that  con- 
ference and  was  rejected  ?'  'Yes,  I  remember  that,' 
was  the  host's  reply.  'Well,  I  am  that  boy,'  said  the 
presiding  elder." 

This  did  not  likely  result,  if  it  be  a  veritable  fact, 
from  any  supposed  want  of  competency,  for  they  were 


A  Preacher  in  Charge  61 

not  very  rigid  in  those  days  concerning  intellectual 
acquirements,  provided  the  experience  was  satisfac- 
tory. We  have  on  record  an  experience  not  unlike 
it:  In  the  year  1852,  Rev.  J.  G.  Baldwin,  then  a 
young  man,  and  still  living  at  this  writing,  made 
application  to  the  quarterly  conference  of  Canaan 
Circuit,  then  in  the  bounds  of  Muskingum  Confer- 
ence, for  license  to  preach.  The  usual  questions,  not 
very  numerous  nor  very  exacting,  were  propounded 
by  the  elder  in  the  chair,  and  the  applicant  was  asked 
to  retire  while  the  conference  took  his  case  under 
consideration.  He  says :  "They  did  consider  about 
an  hour,  and  then  called  me  in,  and  the  elder  in- 
formed me  that  there  were  four  who  voted  that  I  re- 
ceive license,  and  four  against  me,  with  five  not  vot- 
ing at  all.  It  was  thea-efore  a  tie,  and  the  conference 
had  asked  him  to  give  the  deciding  vote.  A  few  ques- 
tions were  then  asked  by  him,  and,  as  the  answers 
were  apparently  to  his  satisfaction,  he  voted  in  the 
affirmative.  Those  who  voted  in  the  negative  in- 
formed me  afterwards  that  they  did  so  thinking  that 
as  I  had  been  teaching  school  I  might  he  disposed 
to  trust  in  my  learning  and  leave  the  Lord  out  of  the 
question." 

Concerning  his  first  field  of  labor,  Bishop  Weaver 
writes:  "I  was  then  in  my  twenty-third  year  of 
age.  From  the  conference  I  received  my  first  ap- 
pointment, then  kno^vn  as  Lake  Erie  Mission.  The 
mission  was  two  hundred  miles  around,  with  seven- 
teen appointments  and  twenty-three  members.  But 
I  was  young  and  full  of  hope.     My  advantages  had 


62  Biography  of  Jonathan   Weaver 

been  comparatively  poor,  for  I  was  raised  under  the 
old  constitution,  when  men  almost  universally  op- 
posed an  educated  ministry.  I  had  to  make  the  best 
possible  o«t  of  my  ignorance.  When  the  time  came  to 
start  for  the  mission,  which  was  distant  over  one 
hundred  miles,  I  felt  some  misgivings,  but  would  not 
suffer  even  my  mother  to  know  that  my  mind  was  in 
the  least  cloudy.  I  packed  up  my  notions  in  an  old- 
fashioned  pair  of  saddle-bags,  and  took  a  hasty  leave 
of  home  and  friends,  and  set  my  face  towards  the 
north.  The  roads  were  exceedingly  muddy,  as  it  was 
in  the  spring  of  the  year,  but  after  four  days  of  hard 
riding,  I  reached  the  first  appointment,  and  stopped 
witii  Mr.  John  Goodin,  who  lived  on  the  mission, 
and  had  traveled  it  the  year  previous.  With  this  good 
brother  I  remained  a  day  or  two,  and  then  set  out 
in  search  of  the  few  scattered  sheep  which  were 
spread  over  six  or  seven  counties,  but,  thanks  to  my 
good  luck,  I  found  every  one  of  them  in  the  course 
of  a  month." 

An  older  brother,  j^icholas  Weaver,  tells  this  story 
of  his  brother's  first  start  into  the  work  of  the  min- 
istry: "When  Jonty  received  word  of  his  appointr 
ment  to  his  first  charge,  he  said,  'I  cannot  go;  I 
have  no  horse,  no  saddle,  no  saddle-bags,  no  over- 
coat^ no  nothing.'  I  said  to  him,  'Jonty,  if  you 
feel  it  is  your  duty  to  go,  we  will  fix  you  up  for 
the  trip.'  I  had  a  little  bay  mare,  and  we  saddled 
her  up,  found  some  saddle-bags,  and  filled  them  up, 
found  an  old  drab  overcoat,  with  cape  and  shingles, 
as  they  used  to  have  in  those  days,  and  made  him 


A  J^reacher  in  Charge  63 

ready  for  his  trip.  I  will  not  soon  forget  the  morn- 
ing he  started  away.  It  was  some  twenty  or  thirty 
rods  from  the  barn  down  to  Huff  Run,  then  it  was 
up,  up,  up  to  the  top  of  the  hill,  where  stood  the  old 
Huff  Run  Church.  I  can  yet  see  Jonty  going  down 
to  the  run  on  the  little  bay  mare,  his  feet  nearly 
touching  the  ground."  After  telling  the  story,  he 
wound  up  by  saying,  ''But  Jonty  has  done  pretty  well, 
after  all." 

"Being  now  fairly  addressed  to  my  work,  I  laid 
in  with  all  my  might,  and  soon  had  the  number  of 
appointments  increased  to  twenty-three,  which  I  filled 
regularly  in  three  weeks.  I  expected  to  do  more  than 
I  really  did.  I  knew  little,  comparatively,  of  hmnan 
nature,  and  thought  I  would  be  able  to  gather  sinners 
into  the  fold  of  Christ  by  scores  and  hundreds,  but 
I  was  wonderfully  disappointed.  I  was  greatly  an- 
noyed by  the  Universalists,  as  nearly  every  third 
man  was  of  that  faith,  and  they  seemed  to  take  great 
pleasure  in  calling  my  attention  to  their  peculiari- 
ties, about  which  I  knew  but  little.  I  found  that 
nothing  else  would  do  but  a  careful  posting  in  that 
direction,  which  I  set  about  in  good  earnest,  and, 
in  the  course  of  a  few  months,  they  became  rather 
shy.  I  possessed  a  good  deal  of  physical  energy,  and 
some  warmth  of  spirit,  which  carried  me  forward 
with  apparent  ease." 

Others  have  had  a  similar  experience  in  selecting 
texts.  He  says:  "One  thing  was  rather  peculiar 
in  my  first  year's  experience,  and  that  was  in  the 
selection  of  texts.     It  seemed  to  me  that  there  were 


64  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

cmly  a  few  passages  which  contained  a  sufficient 
amount  of  matter  for  a  sermon,  and  I  often  took  hold 
of  the  more  mysterious  passages  and  supposed  that  I 
did  them  ample  justice,  when,  in  fact,  as  I  now  see, 
I  never  touched  the  real  thing." 

The  climate  in  that  section  at  that  time  was  not 
the  most  desirable.  ''During  the  winter  months, 
which  were  very  severe,  I  suffered  much  from  cold. 
I  was  not  accustomed  to  the  lake  breezes,  and  had,  on 
each  round,  to  travel  about  forty  miles  on  the  lake 
shore.  I  often  slept  at  night  with  nothing  more  than 
a  half-inch  shingle  between  my  bed  and  the  heavens. 
The  snow  was  sometimes  a  full  half -inch  deep  on  my 
bed  in  the  morning.  This,  of  course,  I  did  not  think 
well  of,  but  as  it  was  not  my  nature  to  complain,  I 
said  but  little.  During  the  year,  I  held  several  j)ro- 
tracted  meetings,  which  resulted,  in  all,  in  upwards 
of  eighty  conversions  and  accessions.  It  was  a  year 
of  never-to-be-forgotten  comfort  to  me.  I  learned 
more  of  human  nature  than  I  had  ever  heard  of,  both 
in  myself  and  others.  I  believe  it  is  good,  but  not 
wise,  to  put  young  men  on  frontier  fields  of  labor.*' 
An  opinion  which  he  modified  later,  when,  as  bishop, 
he  saw  the  great  need  for  men  in  the  great  West. 

He  had  another  experience  during  the  year  which 
would  be  a  little  uncommon  in  our  day,  and  which 
he  never  forgot.  It  was  an  additional  view  of  human 
nature:  "I  was  invited  to  take  up  an  appointment 
in  a  place  called  Independence,  seven  miles  south 
of  Cleveland.  At  the  first  appointment,  I  suppose 
there  were  one  hundred  persons  in  attendance.     It 


A  Preacher  in  Charge  65 

was  a  new  thing,  as  there  had  never  been  but  one 
sermon  preached  in  that  vicinity,  and  there  was  but 
one  man  to  be  found  that  made  any  profession  of  re- 
ligion, and  he  was  rather  a  hard  sort  of  a  Christian. 
When  I  was  about  to  commence  the  sermon  on  the 
first  evening,  a  large  two-handed  man  arose  in  his 
place  and  said  that  after  that  evening  we  could  not 
have  the  house,  as  he  considered  it  impolitic  to  hold 
evening  meetings,  and  immediately  withdrew.  At 
the  close  of  the  meeting,  I  asked  the  congregation  to 
decide  whether  I  should  return  or  not,  and  all  voted 
for  another  appointment,  which  I  announced  for 
three  weeks.  Upon  inquiry,  I  learned  that  my  large 
man  was  a  justice  of  the  peace  and  an  infidel. 

"At  the  appointed  time  I  returned,  and  found 
the  house  crowded.  I  arose  to  begin  just  as  the 
squire  entered  the  house.  He  at  once  commenced 
his  harangue,  and  continued  for  some  time,  when, 
owing  to  some  personal  remarks,  he  excited  a  little 
Irishman,  who  felt  it  his  duty  to  retaliate,  and,  after 
some  pretty  sharp  words,  the  Irishman  quieted  down, 
and  the  infidel  went  on  with  his  remarks.  Pretty 
soon  he  again  indulged  in  some  remark  that  did  not 
suit  the  notions  of  the  Irishman,  and  he  again  inter- 
rupted the  giant  squire,  who,  by  the  way,  called  Pat 
a  liar.  This  was  quite  as  much  as  he  could  stand, 
and  he  threatened  to  take  the  infidel  down  a  peg.  I 
wondered  how  that  might  be,  as  he  was  so  much 
smaller  than  the  squire.  They  continued  sparring 
for  some  time,  when  the  squire,  with  great  authority, 
commanded  him  to  take  his  seat  and  be  quiet  or  he 


60  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

would  make  him  sweat  for  what  he  had  done.  At 
this  rather  smoky  time,  the  Irishman's  wife,  who  had 
been  a  quiet  spectator,  jumped  to  her  feet,  and  said, 
Taith,  Davy,  ye  may  as  well  die  for  an  old  shape 
as  a  lamb ;  just  give  him  a  little.'  Taith,  an'  I  will,' 
says  Davy.  Whereupon  he  felled  the  infidel  to  the 
floor,  then  took  him  by  the  feet  and  dragged  him 
out  of  the  house  and  administered  to  him  such  treat- 
ment as  he  judged  he  deserved.  All  this  time  I  stood 
in  my  place,  hymn-book  in  hand,  secretly  wishing 
I  was  not  just  in  that  neighborhood.  After  the  fight- 
ing was  over,  I  went  out  of  the  house,  and  the  first 
person  I  met  was  the  Irishman's  wife,  who,  by  the 
way,  had  stood  hard  by  Davy  all  through  the  fight. 
'Mr.  Preacher,'  said  she,  'and  wasn't  that  good  for 
him  ?'  I  confess  I  thought  it  was,  but  dared  not  say 
it 

"The  next  thing  in  order  was  either  to  go  home  or 
to  try  to  preach.  The  people  were  bent  on  having 
preaching,  but  I  was  tired.  I  was  not  fit  to  preach, 
nor  they  to  hear.  But  they  swore  I  must  preach,  and 
it  was  some  time  before  they  would  consent  not  to 
have  preaching.  I  knew  it  was  not  the  preaching 
they  cared  so  much  about,  but  they  wanted  the  vic- 
tory complete.  I  returned  to  the  neighborhood  and 
preached  several  times,  but  the  squire  did  not  find 
it  convenient  to  be  in  attendance^  Davy  and  his  wife 
were  always  on  hand,  and  paid  more  than  a  common 
quarterage. 

"The  year  closed  pleasantly  and  profitably  to  me. 
It  is  my  opinion,  however,  that  inexperienced  young 


A  JPreacher  in  Charge  67 

men  ought  not  be  sent  out  on  the  frontier  fields.  It 
is  also  my  opinion  that  young  men  about  entering 
the  ministry  would  do  well  to  spend  some  time  in 
preparation  before  they  enter  the  field.  I  speak  from 
experience,  for  I  learned  to  feel  the  need  of  it"  This 
was  written  thirteen  years  after  the  events  occurred. 
He  received  $80  for  his  services  that  year. 

The  following  year,  which  was  only  a  part  of  a 
year,  he  traveled  Mt.  Vernon  Mission,  in  northeast 
Ohio.  The  conference  convened  in  seven  months 
from  the  time  he  began,  but  for  this  time  he  received 
$60,  and  had  nearly  one  hundred  conversions.  He 
was  ordained  by  Bishop  Glossbrenner  in  1848.  In 
those  early  days  ministers  were  not  required  to  pass 
through  a  regular  course  of  reading,  nor  to  remain 
three  years  on  probation,  as  now.  By  this  conference 
he  was  sent  to  Fowler's  Circuit,  eastern  Ohio.  He 
had  good  success,  and  received  for  his  work  $175. 

He  was  married  to  Miss  Keziah  L.  Robb,  of  Ma- 
honing County,  Ohio,  on  February  24,  1847,  the  year 
in  which  he  joined  the  annual  conference.  They 
lived  pleasantly  and  happily  together  for  the  space 
of  four  years,  when  she  was  removed  by  death.  She 
was  an  earnest,  active  Christian  woman,  and  died  in 
great  peace.  Two  daughters  were  born  to  them,  both 
of  whom  are  living,  Mrs.  A.  T.  Shaeffer,  of  Grand 
Eapids,  Michigan,  and  Mrs.  E.  L.  Nave,  of  Hunting- 
ton, Indiana. 

The  annual  conference  of  1849  was  held  in  Berlin, 
Mahoning  County,  and  by  it  he  was  assigned  to  [N'ew 
Eumley  Station,  Harrison  County,  Ohio.     Here  he 


68  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

remained  two  years,  with  fair  success,  his  salary  each 
year  being  about  $175.  He  began  with  one  hundred 
and  ten  members,  and  increased  the  list  sixteen. 

Most  of  those  who  listened  to  him  in  those  early 
days,  like  himself,  have  gone  to  their  reward.  One 
who  still  remains  says:  "I  first  met  him  in  the 
spring  of  1848.  Joseph  Waldorf  had  organized  a 
small  society,  eight  in  number,  of  United  Brethren  in 
Canaan,  Wayne  County,  Ohio.  Solomon  Weaver,  his 
brother,  was  presiding  elder.  Our  meetings  at  that 
time  were  nearly  always  held  in  private  houses,  for 
there  were  few  churches  as  yet.  A  prayer-meeting 
had  been  appointed  to  be  held  at  the  house  of  Brother 
Lamon,  and  it  was  circulated  through  the  community 
that  we  might  expect  a  young  preacher  from  the  lake 
shore  to  preach  to  us  that  evening.  The  time  for 
the  meeting  came,  and  every  room  in  the  house  was 
crowded.  The  preacher  came,  and  we  were  sure  we 
never  heard  such  preaching  and  singing  in  our  lives 
before.  It  was  all  very  enthusiastic,  much  noise,  but 
a  great  deal  of  sense  as  well  as  sound.  The  services 
were  continued  until  midnight,  as  we  were  often  apt 
to  do  in  those  days." 

The  following  account  of  this  same  meeting  is  given 
by  an  eyerwitness:  "About  1849  or  1850,  there 
came  to  our  vicinity  a  young  man,  and  it  was 
soon  circulated  in  the  neighborhood  that  he  would 
preach  at  our  Wednesday  evening  prayer-meeting, 
which  was  to  be  held  at  a  private  house,  for  at  that 
time  we  had  no  church-house.  Well,  of  course,  the 
house  was  crowded   in  every  nook  and  comer,   as 


A  Freacher  in  Charge  69 

it  was  reported  tkat  the  preacher  was  a  new  man 
and  just  a  beginner.  My  impression  now  is,  that  it 
was  reported  that  he  came  from  the  northeast,  along 
the  lake  shore,  and  also  that  he  was  a  giant  in  stature ; 
also,  a  powerful  hand  at  preaching  and  singing.  Of 
course,  all  were  there  who  could  conveniently  be 
there,  and  expectation  ran  high.  When  all  were  well 
settled,  and  a  few  songs  had  been  sung,  and  a  few 
had  led  in  prayer,  as  was  the  custom,  the  said 
preacher  arose  to  begin  his  evening  effort.  I  am 
now  of  the  opinion  that  his  head  came  well  up  to 
the  ceiling  of  the  room  where  we  were  gathered.  In- 
deed, our  ideal  was  fully  met  in  regard  to  his  giant 
altituda  The  preaching  was  impulsive,  and  it  was 
the  opinion  of  several,  as  they  expressed  it,  'That 
he  was  a  noisy  preacher  and  a  very  lusty  singer.' 
There  were  few  in  the  audience  who  knew  the  name 
of  the  preacher  at  that  time,  but,  after  the  sermon, 
there  was  much  handshaking,  and  I  am  quite  sure 
that  the  most  of  the  congregation  introduced  them- 
selves to  him  without  much  ceremony,  and  learned 
his  name,  which  was  Jonathan  Weaver." 

When  at  the  sessions  of  the  annual  conference, 
Bishop  Weaver,  who  was  reckoned  quite  a  good  singer 
for  the  times,  would  frequently  start  a  stanza  of  some 
hymn,  as  he  said,  "to  liven  up  things,"  for  he  always 
abhorred  dullness. 

In  the  Telescope  for  July  4,  1849,  there  is  a  com- 
munication from  him  on  "Order  in  the  Church." 
He  was  a  little  noisy,  probably,  as  many  others  were, 
and  he  was  taken  to  task  for  it,  probably  by  some 


70  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

who  were  unconverted.  He  says:  "It  is  thought 
to  be  out  of  order  for  Christians  to  shout  or  praise 
God  with  a  vocal  voice,  because  (1)  it  is  confusing; 
(2)  it  will  offend  the  sinners;  (3)  many  hypocrites 
shout."  He  takes  these  up  in  their  order,  and  meets 
them,  with  no  little  skill.  '^As  to  the  first,  it  cannot 
confuse  the  Christian,  for  Paul  tells  him  to  rejoice 
evermore,  and  pray  without  ceasing.  It  will  not  con- 
fuse the  angels,  for  that  is  their  business.  It  can- 
not confuse  God,  for  he  is  surrounded  by  the  heav- 
enly hosts,  who  are  always  shouting  and  praising 
him.  As  to  the  second  point,  that  it  offends  the 
wicked,  that  is  no  reason  why  Christians  should  re- 
frain from  it.  Preaching  the  gospel  plainly  and 
earnestly  may  offend,  but  Christians  must  go  for- 
ward all  the  same.  As  to  the  third  point,  there  are, 
no  doubt,  hypocrites  who  shout ;  there  are  some  hypo- 
crites who  do  not.  Christ  never  called  any  one  a 
hypocrite  for  shouting.  When  Christ  went  into 
Jerusalem,  those  with  him  cried,  'Hosanna  in  the 
highest !'  Some  cried  out,  'Order !  order !'  but  Jesus 
said,  if  they  held  their  peace,  the  stx>nes  would  cry 
out.  If  the  stones  about  some  of  our  meeting-houses 
would  cry  out,  it  would  arouse  some  of  our  modern 
formalists.  I  would  to  God  the  stones  under  the 
meeting-houses  would  cry  out,  or  that  the  hearts  of 
stone  would  melt,  to  give  room  for  old-fashioned  re- 
ligion. .  .  .  Let  me  live  a  Christian  life  and 
die  shouting  the  praises  of  God." 

In  his  nature  was  a  quiet  vein  of  humor,  which 
was  of  great  value  to  him  when  presiding,  later,  over 


A  I'reacher  in  Charge  71 

■conferences.  When  perplexing  questions  would  come 
up,  and  now  and  then  unholy  passions  manifest 
themselves,  by  means  of  this  he  could  quiet  the  most 
turbuleait  uprising  which  would  likely  occur.  This 
■came  to  his  help  even  in  the  early  years  of  his  min- 
istry. In  that  day,  it  was  made  the  duty  of  the 
preacher  to  read  certain  sections  of  the  Discipline 
once  or  more  during  the  year  at  each  appointment. 
In  the  performance  of  this  duty,  he  was,  at  one  ap- 
pointment, reading  the  article  on  secret  societies.  A 
member  of  the  society  who  was  present  arose  and 
said,  "Brother  Weaver,  is  that  in  the  United  Breth- 
ren Discipline?"  He  was  assured  by  the  preacher 
that  it  was.  "Well,"  said  the  member,  somewhat 
pettishly,  "if  that  is  the  case,  I  want  it  understood 
that  I  am  no  longer  a  member  of  the  United  Breth- 
ren Church."  To  which  the  preacher  answered,  with 
a  merry  twinkle  in  his  eye,  "Very  well,  brother,  the 
United  Brethren  Church  has  a  back  door  as  well  as 
a  front  door,  and  you  can  go  out  there  if  you  wish." 
This  disarmed  the  brother  of  his  opposition,  and, 
after  a  further  investigation,  he  concluded  not  to 
take  his  exit  at  the  back  door.  If  living,  he  is  still  a 
member. 

Bishop  Weaver's  distinguished  form,  his  genial, 
sunny  temperament,  his  earnest,  successful  preaching, 
made  him  popular  in  the  conference,  so  he  was 
-quickly  singled  out  for  promotion.  In  N'ovember, 
1851,  the  Muskingum  Conference  was  held  in  Ca- 
naan, Wayne  County,  Ohio.  At  this  conference,  he 
was  elected  presiding  elder,  and  was  placed  on  the 


72  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

iN^ew  Rumley  District,  serving  it  two  years.  For 
three  years  he  served  on  WoosteT  District,  making 
five  years  in  all.  Later,  when  in  the  college  agency, 
he  served  as  elder  for  a  portion  of  a  year. 

While  Bishop  Weaver  was  not  exactly  a  pioneer  in 
the  strict  sense  of  that  term,  he  stood  on  the  borders 
of  that  time.  We  wish  he  had  kept  a  record  of  the 
events  of  his  times,  for  it  would  have  been  very  help- 
ful in  properly  estimating  the  trials,  the  poverty, 
the  disappointments  of  that  period.  It  would  have 
revealed  to  us  the  stuff  out  of  which  these  early  Chris- 
tians were  made.  Our  Methodist  friends  have  done 
better  than  we,  for  they  have  a  record  of  these  times 
of  trial.  Our  men,  uncultured  as  they  were,  unas- 
suming in  their  manners,  and  restrained  in  their  ex- 
pectations, never  expecting  the  Church  would  amount 
to  a  very  great  deal,  were  satisfied  to  keep  at  work 
in  their  humble  way  trying  to  save  souls,  and  to 
teach  their  neighbors  a  better  way  of  living,  without 
thinking  that  posterity  would  be  interested  in  their 
labors,  nor  anxious  that  distant  ages  should  think  of 
them,  but  only  concerned  that  they  should  so  live 
that  when  the  King  of  kings  came  to  gather  up  his 
jewels,  they  should  be  remembered  of  him. 

One  of  the  most  able  and  eloquent  ministers  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  Ohio  was  Rev.  James 
B.  Finley,  who  was  a  missionary  among  the  Wyandot 
Indians,  at  Upper  Sandusky,  about  the  time  Bishop 
Weaver  was  born.  He  was  chaplain  of  the  Ohio 
Penitentiary  when  Bishop  Weaver  began  to  preach. 
His  power  in  the  pulpit  was  remarkable,  and,  at 


A  Preacher  in  Charge  73 

the  camp-meetings  common  in  those  days,  he  ahnost 
brought  down  thousands  at  a  stroke.  Speaking  of 
his  preparation,  he  says :  "My  want  of  experience 
and  conscious  inability  to  preach  the  gospel  as  a 
workman  that  need  not  to  be  ashamed,  led  me  to  seek 
with  great  earnestness  the  sanctifying  influence  of 
the  Spirit  of  God,  and  to  devote  every  spare  hour  to 
the  study  of  the  Bible.  My  place  of  study  was  the 
forest,  and  my  principal  text-books  the  Bible,  Dis- 
cipline, doctrinal  treatise,  and  the  works  of  Wesley 
and  Fletcher.  Often  while  in  the  woods  reading 
my  Bible,  on  my  knees,  and  praying  to  God  for  the 
wisdom  that  cometh  down  from  above,  was  my  heart 
comforted.  My  feeble  efforts  were  abundantly 
blessed,  and  many  souls  were  given  to  my  ministry." 
When  he  went  to  take  charge  of  his  first  circuit, 
he  says:  "Nowhere  in  all  the  round  could  I  find  a 
place  for  my  family  to  live,  and  hence  I  was  driven 
to  the  necessity  of  building  a  cabin  fourteen  miles 
west  of  Bainsville.  We  took  possession  of  our  humble 
cabin,  twelve  by  fourteen  feet,  which  proved  suflS- 
ciently  capacious,  as  we  had  nothing  but  a  bed  and 
some  wearing  apparel.  My  funds  being  all  ex- 
hausted, I  sold  the  boots  off  my  feet  to  purchase  pro- 
visions with,  and,  after  making  all  the  preparation 
that  I  could  to  render  my  family  comfortable,  started 
out  again  on  my  circuit,  to  be  absent  four  weeks." 
Limited  as  these  men  were  in  pecuniary  support, 
they  enjoyed  a  rich  experience.  "Traveling  and 
preaching  night  and  day,  they  were  without  the  neces- 
saries of  life,  always  without  those  comforts  that  are 


74  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

now  enjoyed  by  traveling  preachers,  with  worn  and 
tattered  garments,  but  happy  and  united  like  a  band 
of  brothers.  The  quarterly  meetings  and  annual  con- 
ferences were  high  times  when  the  pilgrims  met. 
They  never  met  without  embracing  each  other,  and 
never  parted  at  those  seasons  without  weeping.  Those 
were  days  that  tried  men's  souls." 

The  people  were  poor,  and  could  do  but  little  for 
their  preachers.  Says  Finley:  "The  first  settlers 
could  not  have  sustained  themselves  had  it  not  been 
for  the  wild  game  in  the  country.  This  was  their 
principal  subsistence,  and  this  they  took  at  the  peril 
of  their  lives,  and  often  some  of  them  came  near 
starving  to  death.  Wild  meat  without  bread  or  salt 
was  often  their  only  food  for  weeks  together.  If 
they  obtained  bread,  the  meal  was  pounded  in  a  mor- 
tar, or  ground  in  a  hand-mill.  Hominy  was  a  good 
substitute  for  bread,  or  parched  corn  pounded  and 
sifted,  then  mixed  with  a  little  sugar,  and  eaten  dry. 
On  this  coarse  fare  the  people  were  remarkably 
healthy  and  cheerful.  Almost  every  man  and  boy 
were  hunters,  and  some  of  the  women  of  those  times 
were  expert  in  the  chase." 

Says  another :  "The  pioneers  in  the  Western  ter- 
ritory suffered  many  privations,  and  underwent  much 
toil  and  labor,  preaching  in  forts  and  cabins,  sleep- 
ing on  straw,  bear  and  buffalo  skins,  living  on  bear 
meat,  venison,  and  wild  turkey,  traveling  over  moun- 
tains and  through  solitary  valleys,  and  sometimes 
lying  on  the  cold  ground,  receiving  but  a  scanty  sup- 
port,— barely  enough  to  keep  soul  and  body  together, 


A  Preacher  ifi  Charge  75 

with  coarse,  home-made  apparel ;  but,  best  of  all,  their 
labors  were  received  and  blessed  of  God,  and  they 
were  like  a  band  of  brothers,  having  but  one  purpose 
and  end  in  view,  the  glory  of  God  and  the  salvation 
of  immortal  souls." 

Our  heart  thrills  and  our  pulse  throbs  as  we  write 
the  record  of  how  these  men  toiled  and  suffered. 
What  we  are  to-day  in  this  goodly  State  of  Ohio  is 
due  to  the  teaching  and  example  of  these  men.  They 
were  the  true  patriots  and  builders  of  our  Christian 
civilization.  Their  thought  was  not  of  self,  but  the 
good  of  the  people  and  the  glory  of  God.  In  many 
homes  to-day  are  blessed  memories  of  these  men,  who 
laid  the  foundations  on  which  others  of  us  are  build- 
ing. 

Bishop  Weaver,  it  is  true,  came  a  little  later  than 
some  of  these  men,  and  did  not  find  it  necessary  to 
bear  as  these  men  bore,  or  to  suffer  as  they  suffered, 
but  he  and  his  associates  did  bear  and  endure  pri- 
vations of  which  we  know  nothing  to-day.  All  honor 
to  these  early  consecrated  workers,  who,  in  the  rain 
and  mud  and  snow,  digged  deep  and  laid  foundations 
on  which  the  church  of  to-day  is  seeking  to  build  the 
superstructure.  May  it  be  worthy  of  the  work  they 
did  and  the  privations  they  endured. 


CHAPTEK  V. 

A  College  Agent. 

Having  done  good  service  as  an  itinerant,  Bishop 
Weaver's  brethren  promoted  him  to  the  position  of 
presiding  elder,  in  which  capacity  he  served  some  five 
years.  He  was  more  and  more  beginning  to  know  the 
wants  of  the  Church.  He  was  becoming  more  skillful 
in  matters  of  administration.  He  was  a  delegate  to 
the  General  Conference  which  met  in  Cincinnati,  in 
1857,  which  was  a  very  important  one.  This  in- 
creased his  acquaintance  with  the  Church  leaders,  and 
they  learned  more  about  his  ability.  Thoughtful  men 
who  were  scanning  the  field  for  faithful  helpers  saw 
in  him  powers  and  capabilities  that  gave  promise 
of  still  greater  usefulness.  John  C.  Bright,  that  per- 
sistent advocate  of  the  cause  of  missions,  pressed  him 
to  go  to  Canada  as  a  missionary.  Otterbein  Uni- 
versity had  been  chartered  in  1847,  and  the  aggres- 
sive minds  of  the  Church  were  enlisted  in  its  welfare. 
Bishop  Weaver's  brother,  Solomon,  had  served  the 
institution  in  1854  and  1855,  and  Jonathan  would 
be  more  or  less  both  interested  and  informed  as  to 
its  needs.  Then,  again,  he  realized  his  own  imper- 
fect preparation,  and  how  he  had  early  been  pressed 
into  active  servica    He  saw  that  the  coming  Church, 


Rev.  Jonathan  Wkavee.— Abuut 


A  College  Agent  77 

if  it  succeeded,  must  have  better  trained  men,  and 
he  was  anxious  to  bring  to  others  advantages  which 
did  not  come  to  him.  So  he  became  the  agent  for 
Otterbein  University. 

This  was  a  severe  school  for  him,  and  involved  the 
hardest  work  he  ever  did,  but  it  helped  to  prepare 
him  for  his  later  work.  He  was  elected  June,  1857, 
and  served  the  institution  continuously  for  eight 
years.  When  asked,  in  his  old  age,  as  to  his  success 
in  this  new  field,  he  answered:  "My  success  was 
only  moderate.  Hard  times  and  the  Civil  War  made 
it  very  difficult.  Difficult  as  the  work  was,  it  was  a 
great  school  for  me.  It  gave  me  an  insight  into  hu- 
man nature  that  I  could  not  have  obtained  in  any 
other  way.  Sometimes  I  was  amused,  and  not  infre- 
quently disgusted.  During  these  years,  I  formed  the 
habit  of  observation,  so  that  I  could  pretty  nearly 
read  a  man  the  moment  I  saw  him." 

When  he  became  agent,  the  university  had  been 
in  existence  for  ten  years.  So  far  as  he  could  ascer- 
tain, at  the  time  he  began  there  was  not  a  college 
graduate  in  the  membership  of  the  Church.  That 
year,  two  ladies,  one  of  whom  is  still  living  in  Cali- 
fornia, became  the  first  graduates  of  the  university, 
and  headed  the  list  of  a  long  line  of  cultured  men 
and  women  who  have  since  gone  forth  to  bless  the 
Church  and  the  world.  As  our  leaders  were  not 
themselves  men  trained  in  the  college,  they  had  no 
experience  in  college  work,  and  it  was  not  surprising 
that  they  made  blunders  which  trained  and  cultured 
men  would  have  avoided.     The  gratifying  thing  is, 


78  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

that,  with  all  their  lack  of  skill,  they  made  as  com- 
mendable success  as  they  did.  They  not  only  had  to 
train  the  young,  but  they  had  to  teach  the  old  that 
such  training  was  a  desirable  thing. 

The  starting  of  the  college  was  the  work  of  a  few 
aggressive  men,  foremost  of  whom  were  Dr.  L.  Davis, 
William  Hanby,  and  Jonathan  Dresbach,  and  not  a 
demand  of  the  ministry  or  membership  at  large.  Two 
buildings  had  been  erected  at  Westerville  for  school 
purposes  by  the  Methodist  people  residing  there. 
When  the  college  at  Delaware  was  opened,  the  acad- 
emy at  Westerville,  so  near  to  that  city,  could  not 
be  sustained.  There  was  a  debt  of  $1,300  on  the 
two  buildings,  and  a  proposition  was  submitted  to  the 
representatives  of  the  United  Brethren  Church  to 
give  them  this  property  for  school  purposes  if  they 
would  pay  the  debt.  They  purchased  it  on  time, 
thinking  they  had  a  good  thing  of  it ;  and  so  these 
men,  in  their  inexperience,  started  a  college  with  not 
a  dollar  in  the  treasury  and  a  debt  of  $1,300.  When 
we  remember  that  they  had  the  whole  Church  to  edu- 
cate, and  had  to  compete  with  other  institutions,  is  it 
a  surprise  that  the  institution  is  still  in  debt  ? 

Dr.  Davis  was  appointed  as  agent,  and  sent  to  so- 
licit money.  Ko  better  man  could  have  been  secured 
for  the  work.  Through  mud  and  storm  and  snow  he 
started  for  the  Sandusky  Conference,  on  the  Maumee, 
in  order  to  secure  the  cooperation  of  its  ministers. 
Bishop  Russel  was  the  presiding  officer.  He  was  a 
man  strong  in  intellect,  with  a  persistent  will,  and 
strong  in  his  prejudices.    He  told  Dr.  Davis  that  he 


A  College  Agent  79 

would  oppose  this  new  project,  and  oppose  it  he  did. 
In  every  way  he  well  could,  he  sought  to  prevent  Dr. 
Davis  from  making  any  remarks  at  the  conference. 
Finally,  Russel  himself  made  an  earnest  speech  of 
half  an  hour  against  cooperation,  and  at  once  put 
the  question.  The  conference  voted  for  the  college, 
but  by  a  small  majority.  Davis  next  went  to  Mus- 
kingum Conference,  the  one  Bishop  Weaver  joined, 
and  he  had  a  spirited  contest  with  Bishop  Russel, 
who  told  him  he  should  not  be  there  and  press 
this  on  the  conference.  Russel  himself  opposed  it 
in  the  conference,  forewarning  them  that  if  this 
proposition  to  cooperate  carried,  something  awful 
would  happen  to  the  Church,  but  what,  he  did  not 
tell.  The  result  was  that  the  resolution  failed  that 
year,  but  in  the  following  one  the  conference  voted  to 
cooperate. 

In  speaking  of  this  historical  event,  Dr.  Davis 
said:  "Russel  was  a  typical  man,  and  the  fathers 
of  the  Church  were  well  represented  in  him.  They 
were  not  opposed  to  education,  but  they  did  not  be- 
lieve it  the  business  of  the  church  to  educate.  Other 
churches  held  tlie  same  view,  largely,  but  they  were 
getting  rid  of  it  faster  than  we.  Perhaps  Otterbein 
held  it,  Boehm,  ISTewcomer,  and  Guething  held  it.  I 
know  Asbury  held  it.     This  we  had  to  combat" 

Says  Prof.  H.  Garst:  "If  the  inquiry  be  raised 
why  the  Church  was,  for  more  than  half  a  century, 
without  a  college,  these  among  other  reasons  were  to 
be  found :  The  conviction  cherished  by  many  of  the 
fathers  that  it  was  no  part  of  the  work  of  the  church 


80  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

of  Christ  to  furnish  instriiction  so  largely  secular 
as  that  of  a  college  generally  is ;  the  numerical  weak- 
ness and  scattered  condition  of  the  membership  of  the 
Church  during  its  early  history ;  the  missionary  char- 
acter of  the  work  of  the  Church,  which  so  engrossed 
the  leading  men  in  evangelistic  labors  that  they  had 
but  little  time  to  build  colleges ;  and,  finally,  the  fear 
on  the  part  of  some  that  such  an  institution  might 
be  used  to  the  injury  of  the  church  of  Christ.  As 
the  church  grew  and  became  more  firmly  established, 
the  demand  for  a  college  became  more  imperative." 

In  the  Telescope  of  July  18,  1866,  will  be  found 
an  editorial  which  gave  a  good  epitome  of  the  situa- 
tion at  the  time  when  the  college  was  opened,  and 
even  later :  "The  friends  of  these  early  schools  were 
compelled  to  fight  their  way  at  every  step.  The  gen- 
eral sentiment,  to  all  appearances,  was  unreconcilably 
opposed  to  any  advance  in  this  direction.  A  large 
majority  of  the  ministers  shared  this  opposition.  It 
was  not  an  unusual  thing  for  some  of  them,  in  their 
pulpits,  to  thank  God  that  they  had  never  rubbed 
their  backs  against  college  walls." 

Those  who  are  curious  will  find  an  interesting  cir- 
cular, issued  by  L.  Davis  and  Bishop  Hanby,  and 
published  in  the  columns  of  the  Telescope  of  1846, 
which  tells  its  own  story.  One  of  the  most  seri- 
ous objections  urged  against  this  newly  projected 
college  was  the  statement  that  it  was  to  be  a  "priest 
factory,"  where  men  not  called  of  God  should  be 
licensed  to  preach.  Even  men  in  high  official  posi- 
tion made  this  assertion.     It  became  so  serious  that 


A  College  Agent  81 

it  was  thought  best  to  make  a  public  statement, 
through  the  press,  which  should  disarm  any  objection 
of  that  kind.  We  make  an  extract  therefrom :  "We 
now  enter  our  most  solemn  protest,  and  we  think  it 
unkind  in  any  of  our  brethren  thus  to  represent  us, 
because  we  have  from  the  beginning  disavowed  in 
public  and  in  private  any  intention  of  the  kind.  Our 
great  object  is  the  general  diffusion  of  useful  knowl- 
edge, especially  in  the  Church  to  which  we  belong. 
.  .  ,  As  it  respects  the  opinions  of  the  fathers  of 
the  Church,  we  do  not  consider  them  of  supreme  au- 
thority in  deciding  a  question  of  this  kind.  .  .  . 
If  God  should  call  a  man  from  the  plow,  let  him  go ; 
if  from  any  of  the  high  schools  of  the  land,  let  him 
likewise  go,  and  go  immediately.  .  .  .  This 
sentiment,  we  think,  our  venerable  fathers  held  no 
more  sacred  than  we  do.  .  .  .  And  now  all  we 
ask  is  to  be  treated  with  Christian  courtesy,  and  not 
to  have  urged  upon  us  positions  we  have  never  taken ; 
and,  further,  either  to  convince  us  of  wrong  by  the 
Bible  or  the  Discipline,  or  allow  us  peaceably  and 
kindly  to  do  what  we  are  perfectly  willing  they  may 
not  do."  Which,  very  literally  translated,  means,  "If 
you  cannot,  and  will  not  help  us,  then  keep  hands 
off  and  let  us  alone."  !N"otwithstanding  this  dis- 
claimer, one  of  the  best  things  the  university  has 
ever  done  is  the  help  it  has  rendered  in  furnishing 
the  Church  with  a  better  qualified  ministry.  In  this 
sense,  it  is  its  glory  to  have  been  a  "priest  factory," 
and  we  hope  it  shall  so  continue  to  be  as  long  as  it 
lasts. 


82  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

There  was  a  man  named  John  Eckert,  who,  before 
coming  to  this  country,  had  been  in  jail  in  Germany 
for  preaching  experimental  religion.  He  was  a  man 
of  good  life,  but  of  limited  information.  He  itiner- 
ated some  with  Bishop  Edwards,  in  his  earlier  min- 
istry. He  preached  a  sermon  from  Rev.  9:2,  3,  in 
which  the  smoke  and  locusts  coming  up  out  of  the 
pit  were  made  to  represent  the  college;  the  bottom- 
less pit  was  the  indefinite  amount  of  learning — no 
limit  to  it;  the  smoke  was  the  mystifying  effect  of 
human  teaching;  the  college  men,  who  always  made 
everything  dark  about  them,  were  the  locusts.  When 
college-bred  men  are  ready  for  work,  they  seek  good 
salaries,  and  want  to  live  on  the  fat  of  the  land. 
John's  exegesis  was  not  in  keeping  with  the  strictest 
rules  of  logic,  but  it  illustrated  the  spirit  of  the 
time.     Many  others  thought  as  he  said. 

About  the  year  1834,  the  foundations  of  Oberlin 
College  were  laid.  The  original  founder,  in  outlin- 
ing his  plan,  says :  "They  are  to  connect  workshops 
and  a  farm  with  the  institution,  and  so  simplify  diet 
and  dress,  that  by  four  hours'  labor  per  day  young 
men  will  defray  their  entire  expenses,  and  young 
women  working  at  the  spinning-wheel  and  loom  will 
defray  much  of  their  expense."^  This  was  not  orig- 
inal with  Oberlin.  The  manual  labor  idea  was  in 
the  air.  If  persons  of  limited  means  could  go  to 
college  and  defray  most,  if  not  all  of  their  expenses 
by  labor,  so  much  the  better. 

While  this  spirit  was  prevailing,  and  some  insti- 

» "  The  story  of  Oberlin,"  p.  96. 


A  College  Agent  83 

tutions  adopting  it,  why  not  plan  for  this  new  college 
at  Westerville  along  the  same  line  ?  Oberlin  was  not 
far  away ;  its  people  were  aggressively  religious,  and 
if  they  could  succeed  with  such  an  enterprise,  why  not 
others  ?  So  our  fathers  planned  for  a  manual  labor 
department.  The  trustees  voted  in  August,  1849, 
''that  the  manual  labor  system  be,  and  is  hereby  at- 
tached to  this  institution,  and  shall  be  put  into  opera- 
tion as  soon  as  practicable,  and,  furthermore,  we  in- 
struct the  faculty,  in  the  meantime,  to  give  all  the 
work  possible  to  the  students."  In  addition  to  the 
great  fact  that  it  would  lessen  the  expenses  of  stu- 
dents, and  be  productive  of  good  to  them  in  every 
way,  it  would  allay  opposition  and  bind  to  the  insti- 
tution those  who  otherwise  were  not  very  friendly. 
Even  Bishop  Russel,  to  whom  reference  has  been 
made  before  as  opposing  Dr.  Davis  in  his  efforts  to 
secure  money,  favored  something  of  this  kind.  He 
says:  "A  seminary  of  learning  among  the  United 
Brethren  in  Christ,  to  which  labor  is  not  appended, 
will  not  suit  the  habits  of  our  people  nor  their  views 
of  the  matter.  Should  learning  prevail  without  labor, 
it  will  tend  to  make  men  proud ;  pride  and  love  of 
ease  will  increase,  men  will  persuade  each  other  to 
go  to  college  rather  than  become  converted,"  etc. 

Accordingly,  promises  were  made  in  the  beginning 
for  a  manual  labor  department,  and  arrangements 
were  entered  upon  to  set  it  on  foot.  In  1849,  the 
trustees  resolved  it  should  be  attached  at  as  early  a 
date  as  possible.  In  1854,  it  was  voted  to  map  out 
an  efficient  system  of  manual  labor,  and  require  the 


84  JBiograpIiy  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

same  to  be  performed  daily  by  all  in  attendance  upon 
the  institution.  One  year  later,  of  the  $40,000  which 
they  had  planned  to  raise,  one-third  was  to  be  put 
into  the  hands  of  a  manual  labor  agent  for  perfecting 
the  system.  In  1857,  the  executive  committee  voted 
that,  in  their  judgment,  one  professorship  of  the  en- 
dowment fund  should  be  directed  to  the  interest  of  the 
manual  labor  department.  This  was  done  to  aid  in 
the  sale  of  scholarships,  for  which  arrangements  had 
been  made.  In  1859,  after  reciting  this  history,  the 
committee  having  the  matter  in  charge  recommended 
that,  as  before  provided,  they  pledge  $10,000  of  en- 
dowment money  to  the  labor  department  and  start  a 
plan  of  work  to  be  arranged  for  to  include  all  the 
teachers  and  students  in  the  institution.  If  this  could 
not  be  done  because  of  financial  embarrassment,  then 
disconnect  the  manual  labor  system  entirely  from  the 
institution.  This  report  was  vigorously  discussed, 
and  with  no  little  manifestation  of  feeling.  Those 
in  favor  of  manual  labor  thought  they  had  not  been 
fairly  dealt  with.  Others,  not  unfriendly  to  the  plan 
itself,  felt  that  to  carry  it  forward  in  the  present 
financial  condition  would  greatly  embarrass  them. 
Different  plans  were  proposed,  but  finally  the  whole 
question  was  indefinitely  postponed.  The  matter  was 
discussed  for  two  or  three  years,  but  this  was  accepted 
as  the  final  disposition  of  it.  The  whole  affair  left 
some  bitterness,  which  an  agent  must  meet. 

The  first  work  that  Bishop  Weaver  did  was  to  can- 
vass for  the  sale  of  scholarships  in  the  bounds  of  his 
own  conference.     Arrangements  had  been  made  for 


A  College  Agent  85 

securing  an  endowment  fund  by  the  sale  of  scholar- 
ships. Some  institutions  have  been  helped  by  them, 
but  for  lack  of  experience  in  this  case  it  became  a 
dismal  failure,  and  nearly  crushed  the  university. 
These  were  sold  with  the  understanding  that  the  par- 
ties buying  should  give  their  notes  for  the  amount, 
said  notes  to  be  receipted  for  by  the  university.  As 
soon  as  $75,000  worth  should  be  sold,  the  scholar- 
ships would  be  furnished  and  the  notes  collected. 
Had  this  been  done,  and  the  receipts  safely  invested 
at  a  fair  rate  of  interest,  the  institution  might  have 
profited  by  it.  The  first  mistake  was,  the  scholar- 
ships were  sold  at  ruinously  low  rates,  a  perpetual 
scholarship,  giving  tuition  to  one  student  at  a  time 
as  long  as  the  institution  lasted,  sold  for  $100 ;  tui- 
tion for  eighteen  years  for  $50 ;  for  eight  years  for 
$30;  for  four  years  for  $20.  Then  when  the  time 
came  for  collections,  many  claimed  they  had  been  un- 
fairly dealt  with,  as  they  had  bought  with  the  express 
understanding  that  the  manual  labor  department  was 
to  be  continued ;  and  as  it  was  now  abandoned,  they 
refused  to  pay.  Others  were  allowed  to  retain  their 
money  provided  they  paid  the  annual  interest  there- 
on, which  was  done  for  a  time,  and  the  principal, 
perhaps,  finally  lost.  From  these  and  other  causes 
considerable  disaffection  was  produced,  and,  in  the 
end,  the  whole  scheme,  after  years  of  annoyance, 
had  to  be  abandoned.  Some  good  friends,  who  had 
already  paid,  donated  their  money,  others  received 
back  their  notes,  and  thus,  after  a  great  deal  of 
trouble  and  expense  in  selling  these  scholarships,  the 


86  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

scheme  proved  a  failure,  and  the  university  suffered. 
It  is  not  difficult  to  see  how  such  a  condition  would 
hedge  up  the  way  of  an  agent,  and  provide  for  it  that 
his  place  should  be  no  sinecure. 

The  Civil  War  began  in  1861,  and  this  very 
greatly  militated  against  Bishop  Weaver's  work  as 
agent.  Even  before  the  fatal  shot  on  Fort  Sumter 
the  country  was  more  or  less  disturbed,  and  inen  were 
uncertain  what  would  be  the  result.  But  when  the 
call  came  for  troops,  among  the  first  to  enlist  were 
students  from  our  colleges,  sometimes  in  such  num- 
bers as  to  break  up  whole  classes.  With  these,  often, 
went  the  professors  themselves.  Later  on,  many 
young  men  were  taken  from  the  farms,  and  burdens 
fell  upon  those  who  remained.  The  cost  of  the  war 
grew  heavy,  and  the  men  on  the  farms  were  pressed 
to  raise  money  to  meet  it.  Prices  became  inflated, 
and  men  and  women  had  to  practice  the  most  rigid 
economy  in  order  to  make  ends  meet.  It  was  no  time, 
then,  to  send  children  away  to  college.  Their  services 
were  needed  at  home  to  help  support  the  family.  Not 
only  would  the  agent  be  hindered  in  securing  students, 
but  he  found  it  even  more  difiicult  to  sell  scholarships 
or  secure  donations.  Everything  was  in  uncertainty, 
and  men  did  not  know  whether,  when  the  end  came, 
they  would  have  a  country  or  not.  He  attests  this 
in  our  Church  paper  (1863)  :  "One  of  our  diflficul- 
ties  is  the  state  of  the  country.  Many  are  in  doubt 
what  to  do,  and  are  about  ready  to  give  up  every- 
thing— church,  college,  and  country.  But  this  will 
not  do.    The  affairs  of  our  country  are  going  on  well 


A  College  Agent  87 

enough.  'Uncle  Sam'  will  guide  our  ship  of  state 
into  a  quiet  and  peaceful  harbor.  We  regret  the  loss 
of  so  many  precious  lives.  Would  to  God  it  had  to 
be  otherwise;  but  since  it  is  so,  and  we  cannot  help 
itj  we  should  not  be  deterred  from  doing  our  duty. 
We  will  need  churches  and  schools  when  the  war  is 
over,  just  as  if  it  had  not  been.  Mj  principle  is,  that 
we  should  do  our  duty  though  the  heavens  fall,  and 
if  a  man  were  certain  of  dying  in  twenty-four  hours, 
he  should  give  all  the  same  as  if  he  were  sure  of  liv- 
ing twenty-four  years.  Our  duty  to  God  and  the 
church  only  ends  with  life." 

Another  thing  that  hindered  him  not  a  little,  was 
the  fact  that  the  board  of  trustees,  who  should  have 
been  his  most  efficient  helpers,  were  often  of  little 
service.  They  were  elected  by  the  conferences  at 
their  annual  sessions,  and  would  only  serve  for  a 
year  unless  reelected.  If  a  man  had  been  a  candidate 
for  the  position  of  presiding  elder,  and  had  not  been 
elected,  the  conference  would  often  elect  him  trustee 
in  order  to  make  the  defeat  less  severe.  If,  for  any 
other  reason,  it  chose  to  compliment  a  member,  he 
was  elected.  If  he  had  a  son  or  daughter  at  college, 
and  had  a  desire  to  see  the  town  or  his  children,  he 
was  commended  as  trustee.  He  gave  the  matter  lit- 
tle or  no  thought  before  he  went,  and  less  when  he 
came  away.  He  took  no  special  burden  on  his  heart, 
nor  studied  how  to  best  serve  the  institution.  The 
president  was  allowed  to  manage  the  inside  of  the 
college,  and  the  agent  must  devise  ways  and  means 
to  manage  the  business  part  of  it. 


88  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

If  this  were  the  amount  of  responsibility  assumed 
by  the  trustees,  and,  in  many  cases,  as  the  writer 
knows,  it  expresses  the  true  situation,  how  much  bet- 
ter informed  would  the  people  be  ?  Bishop  Weaver 
wrote:  "The  majority  of  our  people  do  not  know 
how  much  it  necessarily  costs  to  build  and  sustain 
a  college.  I  do  not  mention  this  complainingly,  for 
they  do  not  have  the  means  of  knowing,  nor  can  they 
have,  unless  they  are  immediately  connected  with  it. 
On  this  account,  however,  some  have  become  discour- 
aged and  concluded  that  we  cannot  succeed.  It  is 
true  that  it  costs  a  considerable  amount  of  money, 
but  it  is  equally  true  that  many  other  colleges  have 
cost  ten  times  as  much."  In  the  Telescope  of  August 
12,  1863,  the  editor  notices  that  the  Wesleyan  Uni- 
versity of  Middletown,  Connecticut,  received  an  ad- 
dition to  its  endowment  of  $80,000;  also,  Yale  re- 
ceived an  addition  of  $65,000  from  two  persons. 
"!N'ow,  these  colleges  cost  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
dollars  before  these  donations  were  made.  If  a  few 
men  could  make  Otterbein  University  such  dona- 
tions, we  would  not  need  to  work  and  toil  as  we  do 
in  order  to  succeed.  On  the  contrary,  we  get  dona- 
tions of  from  fifty  cents  to  ten  and  twenty  dollars.  It 
costs  time  and  money  to  gather  up  a  few  thousand 
dollars  in  our  way  of  working.  Slow  as  we  may  seem 
to  travel,  however,  I  am  thankful  that  our  condition 
under  God's  providence,  is  growing  better.  Otter- 
bein will  yet  outride  the  storm,  and  others  will 
live  to  see  it  one  of  the  best  colleges  in  the  land. 
Youth  will  be  educated  at  this  school  when  those 


A  College  Agent  89 

who  now  donate  will  be  sleeping  quietly  in  their 
graves." 

Bishop  Weaver  had  a  fondness  for  writing,  and 
so  he  not  only  visited  and  solicited  and  preached,  but 
he  also  wrote  for  the  Church  paper,  making  sugges- 
tions, allaying  prejudices,  informing  the  Church  of 
his  progress,  and  doing  all  he  could,  in  a  reasonable 
way,  to  interest  them  in  the  good  work.  While  visit- 
ing in  Pennsylvania,  in  1861,  about  the  opening  of 
the  war,  he  writes  of  the  rich  farming  land  which 
he  found,  the  fine  crops,  the  customs  of  the  people, 
and  quickly  reaches  the  main  thing  in  view — the 
college :  "Otterbein  has  some  good  friends  here,  who 
contribute  to  its  support.  I  wish  all  felt  as  some  do. 
If  those  not  in  sympathy  would  only  propose  a  bet- 
ter plan,  I  should  be  glad.  Personally,  I  have  no 
choice.  Colleges  will  not  be  of  any  service  to  me  so 
far  as  acquiring  an  education  is  concerned.  I  shall 
have  to  content  myself  with  what  little  I  have  got. 
I  am  not  an  old  man,  and  yet  I  am  too  old  to  go  to 
college.  I  am  old  enough  to  feel  the  need  of  what 
I  do  not  have.  We  do  not  need  a  college  simply  to 
educate.  Other  churches  have  schools,  and  they  will 
educate  our  children  for  us,  gladly.  The  Roman 
Catholics  will  do  it  cheaply.  I  am  not  ready  for  this. 
We  will  educate  our  own  children,  and  teach  them 
the  doctrines  of  the  gospel  of  Christ  as  we  understand 
them,  and  they  will  teach  others  when  we  are  dead 
and  gone.  Some  men  think  God  has  no  use  for  hu- 
man learning,  but  they  seem  to  think  he  has  much 
need  of  human  ignorance." 


90  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

In  his  work  as  solicitor,  he  would  find  a  goodly 
number,  no  doubt,  who  had  grievances,  and  he  would 
be  sure  to  hear  them.  This  prompted  a  short  letter 
in  the  Telescope  on  ''A  Hint  to  Complainers,"  after 
this  fashion: 

"Are  you  called  upon  to  give  money  to  various 
benevolent  and  charitable  purposes  ?  Then  thank 
God  that  the  dear  agent  found  you,  and  that  you 
have  the  blessed  privilege  of  giving  to  a  good  cause. 
Don't  set  up  that  everlasting  howl  about  hard  times, 
high  taxes,  and  the  dear  knows  what  all.  Take  out 
your  wallet  like  a  man,  and  give.  It  will  do  you 
good.  The  half  of  your  complaining  is  not  true,  and 
the  people  know  all  about  it.  You  talk  about  being 
so  frequently  called  upon.  Well,  what  of  it?  You 
scarcely  ever  gave  anything,  and  what  is  the  use  of 
bringing  it  up.  If  you  would  pay  half  as  much  as 
you  complain,  I  doubt  not  but  that  you  would  be  a 
better  Christian. 

"But  our  country,  will  complaining  save  it  ?  You 
have  done  enough  of  that  to  save  a  thousand  coun- 
tries, if  there  were  any  virtue  in  complaining.  But 
the  administration  is  wrong,  and  the  generals  are 
wrong,  and  everything  is  wrong.  I  suppose  if  you 
were  President,  the  war  would  very  soon  be  over ;  or 
if  you  were  at  the*  head  of  the  military  department, 
you  could  thrash  a  million  of  men  with  your  little 
finger.  You  are,  no  doubt,  a  great  man,  but  some- 
how the  fact  is  not  very  widely  known  yet.  Put 
away  your  complaining,  and  put  on  some  courage. 

"And  now,  to  all  complainers,  great  and  small,  rich 


A  College  Agent  91 

and  poor,  old  and  young,  sick  and  well,  allow  me  to 
advise  you  that  if  you  want  to  save  your  credit,  stop 
it  forthwith;  and  if  you  cannot  do  it  right  off,  just 
get  an  agency  of  some  kind,  and  go  around  among  the 
people  begging  money  and  listening  to  their  com- 
plaints, and  if  that  does  not  cure  you  thoroughly  and 
forever,  then  your  case  is  hopeless." 

He  realized  that  he  had  no  easy  task  on  his  hands. 
He  must  do  his  best  to  secure  students,  and  in  war 
time  that  was  difficult  to  do.  He  must  solicit  money 
to  pay  on  the  debt,  and  must  meet  current  expenses, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  guide  and  inspire  the  ministry 
and  laity  of  the  Church.  To  do  this  he  faithfully 
used  the  Church  press.  He  appealed  to  the  loyalty 
of  traveling  and  local  ministers  as  follows:  "If  we 
want  this  Church  to  flourish  in  years  to  come,  we 
must  do  all  in  our  power  to  promote  her  interests. 
I  cannot  now  think  of  any  way  to  do  this  other  than 
by  saving  our  youth.  Bring  them  to  Christ,  and 
under  the  fostering  care  of  the  Church  have  them 
grow  up  to  mature  years.  If  we  do  not  care  for 
them,  they  will  go  elsewhere,  and  give  their  talents 
to  other  churches.  We  have  a  good  school  at  Wester- 
ville,  and  you  owe  it  to  these  young  people  and  to 
the  Church  to  direct  them  there.  Many  of  us  were 
taken  in  by  the  Church  when  we  were  but  boys.  She 
has  nourished  us  and  brought  us  up,  and  it  is  no 
more  than  right  that  we  should  throw  our  whole  soul 
and  body  into  the  work  of  the  Church,  and  do  all  we 
can  to  sustain  her  institutions.  I  should  feel  that  I 
was  recreant  to  the  Church  and  to  the  cause  of  God 


92  Hiography  of  Jonathan  'Weaver 

if  I  did  not  do  all  I  could  to  build  up  her  interests. 
Can  you  not  afford  to  recommend  this  school  to  yoar 
people,  and  urge  them  to  patronize  it  %  We  are  strug- 
gling hard,  and,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  I  believe  we 
will  succeed. 

"The  school  has  sent  many  a  brave  boy  into  the 
army.  Not  a  rebel  has  ever  appeared  at  the  college. 
While  all  this  is  true,  that  we  must  sustain  the  Gov- 
ernment, yet  we  must  not  forget  the  Church  and  her 
interests.  God  will  have  a  church  when  the  rebels  are 
all  dead,  and  it  is  our  duty  to  promote  the  welfare 
of  the  Church  as  well  as  to  save  the  country." 

One  vigorous  article,  in  which  he  addresses  the 
parents  as  to  their  duty  to  their  children,  is  followed 
by  such  pertinent  questions  as  the  following,  sug- 
gested, possibly,  as  Miss  Willard  used  to  say,  to  pro- 
duce an  "arrest  of  thought,"  and,  no  doubt,  in  many 
cases  it  had  the  desired  eifect:  "Would  it  be  a  sin, 
especially  for  a  Christian,  to  pay  as  much  to  support 
the  cause  of  God  as  he  does  to  support  the  civil  gov- 
ernment ?"  "What  is  the  use  for  men  to  pray  for  the 
general  diffusion  of  knowledge  and  the  spread  of 
Christianity,  and  at  the  same  time  be  unwilling  to 
aid  by  their  means  ?"  "Why  is  the  sin  of  covetous- 
ness  more  frequently  rebuked  in  the  Scriptures  than 
any  other  special  sin  ?" 

When  he  met  men,  as  he  did,  who  urged  that  a 
majority  of  our  preachers  did  not  think  that  ministers 
needed  to  be  educated,  and  that  even  some  of  our 
bishops,  as  we  have  before  shown,  were  opposed  to 
the  founding  of  the  college,  he  had  a  word  of  instruc- 


A  College  Agent  93 

tion  for  them :  ''I  know  it  has  been,  and  still  is  ad- 
vocated that  ministers  especially  do  not  need  to  be 
educated.  If  they  are  called  of  God  to  that  work, 
he  will  help  them  to  preach.  So  I  believe;  but  will 
God  help  a  man  to  preach  who  refuses  to  use  the 
means  already  put  within  his  reach  ^  Some  men 
of  powerful  ( ?)  faith  may  believe  this,  but  I  don't, 
and  I  do  not  want  to  believe  it.  I  do  not  want  to  be- 
lieve that  the  God  of  the  Bible  will  indulge  men  in 
such  a  course  of  disrespect  to  him  and  his  arrange- 
ments. All  men  cannot  be  educated;  they  have  not 
the  means,  nor  perhaps  the  opportunity.  They  (like 
myself)  must  do  the  best  they  can;  educate  them- 
selves as  best  they  can  under  the  disadvantages  with 
which  they  may  be  surrounded.  That  some  men  have 
not  had  the  opportunity  to  be  thoroughly  trained, 
is  only  another  argument  why  those  who  can  shoaild 
be  well  educated.  The  Church  greatly  needs  edu- 
cated men  and  women,  and  I  trust  that  God  will  give 
abundant  success  to  the  Christian  educators  of  our 
counti-y  and  of  the  world." 

He  turns  the  tables  on  his  opposers,  and  shows 
that  they  are  not  only  ignorant,  but,  because  of  this 
ignorance,  criminal  in  their  hostility. 

"Those  who  oppose  education  as  a  necessary  in- 
strument in  the  hands  of  the  church  of  Christ  for 
its  defense  and  promotion  must  be  ignorant  of  the 
relations  of  science  to  religion.  They  must  be  igno- 
rant, too,  of  the  advantages  and  blessings  which  they 
are  constantly  realizing  from  it.  Take  education, 
with  its  advantages,  away  from  the  church,  and  what 


94  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

would  be  the  result  ?  She  would  be  without  a  Bible ; 
without  note  or  comment  on  the  sacred  Scriptures ; 
without  a  written  book  on  theology;  without  a  page 
of  history ;  without  a  book  of  any  kind ;  without  a 
printing-press ;  yea,  more  than  this,  without  an  exist- 
ence in  the  world.  I  do  not  want  to  put  education 
above  religion,  but  I  put  it  just  where  God  put  it, 
and  has  always  used  it;  and  if  God  has  not  acted 
wisely  in  using  education  in  such  an  intimate  rela- 
tion to  Christianity,  others  may  complain;  I  shall 
not." 

If  this  teaching  be  true,  then  those  men  who  neg- 
lect to  use  this  means  of  promoting  the  growth  of  the 
Church  are  greatly  guilty.  "It  is  surprising  to  find 
men,  and  especially  ministers,  at  this  day  with  hearts 
as  cold  as  ice  on  this  subject,  and,  from  stupidity 
or  some  other  well  known  cause,  who  never  once  urge 
upon  their  people  the  importance  and  necessity  of 
education,  and  of  the  growing  demand  upon  the 
church  of  Christ  to  superintend  this  department.  Do 
they  not  know  that  at  whatever  time,  and  in  what- 
ever country,  the  church  did  not,  to  a  great  extent, 
control  the  education  of  the  youth,  infidelity  and 
superstition  prevailed  ?  Shall  the  church  give  into 
the  hands  of  her  enemies  this  polished  sword  ?  God 
never  intended  it  to  be  so.  It  is  a  working  force  in 
the  hands  of  the  church,  and  no  man  who  properly 
understands  the  subject  can  either  oppose  it  or  be 
indifferent  to  its  progress.  We  need  educated  men 
to  defend  the  doctrines  of  the  Bible.  We  must 
meet  infidelity  and  error  within  these,  our  fortifi- 


A  College  Agent  95 

cations.  They  have  chosen  the  weapons,  and  we  must 
accept" 

While  his  work  as  an  agent  was  a  hard  and  trying 
one,  and,  in  many  respects,  an  unpleasant  and  thank- 
less one,  yet  now  and  then  it  was  relieved  by  some 
amusing  incident,  which  lightened  the  burden  for 
a  moment  and  made  it  easier  to  bear.  If  a  circum- 
stance happening  to  himself  or  to  others  had  a  ludi- 
crous side  to  it,  he  was  sure  to  see  it.  While  thought- 
ful and  serious,  and,  at  times,  a  little  discouraged, 
he  always  sought  the  cheery  side  of  things,  and  always 
found  it. 

We  find  the  following,  written  October  13,  1858, 
when  the  author,  no  doubt,  was  in  a  genial  mood: 
"Xot  very  long  since,  in  one  of  the  towns  of  northern 
Ohio,  you  might  have  seen  a  tall,  slender  man,  some 
six  feet  four  and  one-half  inches  in  height,  hurriedly 
passing  through  the  streets,  sometimes  walking,  some- 
times running.  His  long,  lean  form,  no  doubt,  ex- 
cited the  levity  of  those  who  saw  him.  All  this  did 
not  in  the  least  deter  the  gigantic  runner.  On  and 
on  he  sped,  and  when,  almost  out  of  breath,  he  reached 
the  depot,  looking  around  him,  he  espied  the  iron 
horse  backed  on  the  switch.  'All  safe,'  he  said  to 
himself;  'I  have  time  enough  yet.  I  will  take  my 
breath  a  little,  and  then  find  a  suitable  seat'  Some 
one  standing  by  said  to  the  stranger,  'You  need  not 
be  in  a  hurry ;  you  can  get  on  when  they  back  to  the 
platform.'  Hearing  this,  the  stranger  stood  still,  with 
his  carpet-bag  in  one  hand  and  his  cloak  in  the  other. 
Presently  there  was  a  sharp  whistle,  and  the  train 


96  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

moved  slowly  on ;  but,  alas !  when  too  late,  he  made 
the  mortifying  discovery  that  the  train  was  gone. 
^Where,'  he  exclaimed,  with  evident  emotion,  'where 
is  the  man  who  said  there  was  time  enough  yet  V  He 
was  not  to  he  found." 

In  1859,  he  reports  the  following:  "I  must  re- 
port my  trip  from  West  Unity  to  Stryker.  I  went  to 
the  post-office,  where  the  hack  always  stopped,  ex- 
pecting to  see  a  decent  looking  vehicle ;  but,  alas !  it 
was  nothing  superior  to  an  old  two-horse  wagon,  with 
a  sort  of  covering,  which  had  all  the  appearance  of 
antiquity.  It  was  difficult  to  keep  down  my  natural 
risibilities.  I  looked  first  this  way,  then  that  way. 
Presently  the  driver,  with  seeming  pride,  bawled  out, 
'All  aboard  for  Stryker !'  I  crawled  in,  there  being 
no  other  passengers  going  that  way,  and,  hard  to  re- 
late, the  roof  of  that  old  dirty  wagon  was  so  low  I 
could  not  sit  with  my  hat  on,  and,  the  day  being  some- 
what damp,  I  dare  not  ride  with  it  off.  So,  humiliat- 
ing as  it  was,  I  crept  in  behind  the  seat,  partly  sitting 
and  partly  kneeling,  in  about  any  kind  of  shape.  In 
this  way  I  rode  seven  miles ;  and  then,  to  add  to  the 
interest,  the  driver  charged  me  half  a  dollar.  It  is 
a  burning  shame  that  men  who  pretend  to  keep  up 
accommodations  for  travelers  should  have  such  a 
vehicle,  and  then  charge  such  an  enormous  price.  The 
judgment  will  sit." 

While  acting  as  agent,  he  had  occasion  to  tell  the 
following,  which  will  bear  repeating:  "Some  men 
think  and  act  like  the  Irishman.  One  day,  when  at 
church,  the  deacon  called  on  him  for  some  money 


A  College  Agent  97 

for  missionary  purposes.  He  excused  himself,  but  the 
deacon  urged  him  to  give.  The  Irishman  answered 
that  he  must  pay  his  debts  first,  and  then  he  would 
give.  The  deacon  reminded  him  that  he  owed  the 
Lord  a  great  deal,  and  ought  to  pay  him.  He  an- 
swered, Taith,  deacon,  I  know  it ;  but  he  don't  crowd 
me  like  my  other  creditors/  " 

On  another  trip,  the  following  suggested  itself: 
'T  have  traveled  considerably  in  different  directions, 
but  I  do  not  remember  ever  seeing  larger  'hoops'  than 
I  have  seen  this  trip.  I  do  not  mind  seeing  small 
hoops,  but  when  they  are  from  sixteen  to  twenty-five 
feet  in  circumference,  I  think  they  are  rather  large. 
It  does  look  so  funny  to  see  a  lady  'hooped'  out  in 
full  style,  presenting  something  of  the  appearance 
of  an  Egyptian  pyramid,  and  then  by  her  side  a  gen- 
tleman with  pantaloons  on  just  as  tight  as  the  bark 
on  a  cherry-tree.  If  the  contrast  is  as  great  in  sub- 
stance as  in  appearance,  this  union  is  a  plain  viola- 
tion of  the  injunction  of  the  apostle,  'Be  ye  not  un- 
equally yoked  together.'  " 

On  another  occasion,  he  had  some  distance  to  walk 
in  order  to  reach  a  protracted  meeting  then  in  prog- 
ress. He  says:  "On  the  way,  I  was  overtaken  by 
a  boy  who  was  returning  from  a  sawmill.  I  asked 
permission  to  ride,  which  he  granted.  There  was  no 
box  on  the  sled,  nothing  to  sit  on  but  the  naked 
benches,  but  I  concluded  that  this  was  better  than 
walking,  as  the  roads  were  in  bad  condition  for  foot- 
wear. The  team  was  not  as  good  as  some  I  had  seen, 
but,  by  almost  constant  pounding,  the  driver  managed 


98  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

to  keep  up  something  of  a  motion.  On  the  way,  we 
met  a  number  of  persons  who  were  not  a  little  amused 
at  our  appearance.  The  driver,  being  something  of 
a  philosopher,  paid  no  attention  to  the  grinning.  On 
he  went,  dashing  and  slashing,  at  the  rapid  rate  of 
not  less  than  one  and  one-half  miles  per  hour.  Fin- 
ally, he  drew  up  the  reins  and  informed  me  that  he 
was  at  home.  I  thanked  him  two  or  three  times  for 
his  kindness,  and  then  went  on  my  way,  considerably 
refreshed." 

At  one  time,  he  was  on  his  way  to  Illinois.  Beyond 
Lafayette,  Indiana,  his  car  went  off  the  track,  turned 
over  twice,  and  settled  bottom  side  up.  He  says  of 
this  experience :  "I  had  often  speculated  in  my  owa 
mind  as  to  what  I  should  do  in  a  case  of  this  kind. 
I  had  come  to  a  conclusion,  and  yet  I  was  not  certain 
how  it  would  be.  But  it  so  happened  I  did  just  as 
I  had  thought  to  do.  When  I  found  that  the  car  was 
off  the  track,  I  took  firm  hold  of  the  arms  of  the  seat 
and  held  on  until  the  car  was  steady.  I  cannot  de- 
scribe the  circles  I  may  have  made  during  the  revolu- 
tions, but,  judging  from  my  own  length  and  the 
height  and  width  of  the  car,  there  must  have  been 
some  slight  interferences  of  the  extremities.  How- 
ever this  may  have  been,  when  the  car  was  steady,  I 
was  still  hanging  to  the  arm  of  the  seat,  which  was 
then  overhead.  The  rest  were  all  piled  up  a^iong 
the  baggage,  broken  glass,  and  seats.  Some  of  the 
men  rushed  out  through  the  windows,  which  was  all 
of  no  use.  They  could  much  more  readily  have  gone 
out  at  the  doors.    I  grabbed  up  my  baggage  and  went 


A  College  Agent  99 

out  as  regularly  as  possible,  and  found,  on  examina- 
tion, that  I  was  not  in  any  way  injured,  not  even 
scratched."  May  not  this  incident  have  suggested  to 
him  his  work  on  "Divine  Providence"  ? 


CHAPTER  VI. 

A  College  Agent,  Completed. 

Bishop  Weaver  was  a  trustee  of  Otterbein  Uni- 
versity, and  was  present  at  the  session  of  the  Board 
in  1857.  The  executive  committee  had  prepared,  and 
the  Board  endorsed  a  plan  of  endowment  by  scholar- 
ships. It  was  proposed  to  raise  $150,000.  As  soon 
as  $75,000  worth  were  sold,  the  scholarships  should 
be  given  and  notes  taken  for  the  same.  It  was  voted 
to  elect  three  agents  for  this  work,  and  Bishop  Weaver 
was  chosen  as  one  of  them,  and  went  to  his  own 
conference  (Muskingum)  to  work.  Later,  the  trus- 
tees arranged,  we  think  unwisely,  to  place  two  other 
agents  in  the  field  to  raise  a  fund  of  $60,000,  with 
which  to  perfect  the  manual  labor  department,  fur- 
nish a  library,  and  to  provide  suitable  apparatus  and 
other  needed  improvements.  Having  labored  for 
four  months,  he  was  invited  to  close  up  his  other  en- 
gagements and  move  to  Westerville,  which  he  did  in 
March,  1858,  so  as  to  be  in  reach  of  the  executive 
committee  and  aid  them  by  his  counsels.  It  was 
voted  that  notes  on  contingent  fund  would  be  col- 
lectible when  $40,000  was  secured,  as  this  would 
furnish  the  buildings,  pay  off  all  debts,  and  place 
the  institution  on  a  good  footing.  He  was  sent  East 
to  solicit,  as  well  as  to  borrow  money  temporarily  for 
the  good  of  the  institution. 


A  College  Agents  Completed  101 

At  the  session  of  the  trustees  in  1859,  it  was  an- 
nounced that  $75,000  had  been  pledged  to  the  en- 
dowment on  the  scholarship  plan,  and  that  steps 
would  be  taken  at  once  to  secure  notes  and  money  and 
give  scholarships.  Bishop  Weaver  had  done  very 
successful  work  in  this  department,  so  it  was  proposed 
at  this  session  to  make  him  soliciting  agent.  While 
pushing  the  scholarship  plan,  this  part  of  the  work 
had  made  little  progress.  He  was  elected,  and  then 
tendered  his  resignation,  but  finally  withdrew  it. 
This  step  probably  grew  out  of  a  proposition  to  re- 
duce his  salary  below  $500.  When  the  executive 
committee  met  and  looked  the  ground  over,  it  was 
agreed,  "in  consideration  of  the  unfavorable  condi- 
tion of  the  country  for  obtaining  donations  and  mak- 
ing collections, — the  money  pressure  being  very  great, 
and  people  now  suffering  from  the  panic  produced 
by  the  injury  done  to  crops;  all  this  conspiring  to 
hedge  up  the  way  of  collecting  or  soliciting  agents; 
and  it  being  very  necessary  to  economize  the  expendi- 
tures of  money  as  far  as  possible, — not  to  appoint  an 
additional  agent  on  endowment  at  present,  but  to 
transfer  J.  Weaver  to  that  department  until  other- 
wise ordered,  with  the  additional  reasons  that  he  has 
been  over  the  field  and  can  therefore  work  more  effi- 
ciently than  one  who  has  not  been  so  engaged  here- 
tofore." He  was  assigned  to  Miami  Conference,  but 
later  was  sent  East. 

At  times,  the  executive  committee  hardly  knew 
what  to  do  or  which  way  to  turn.  Creditors  were 
crowding  them,  and  money  was  scarce.     Men  who 


102  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

had  grievances, — and  thej  were  not  a  few, — found 
this  a  good  time  to  air  them.  They  asked  the  four 
agents  previously  appointed  to  assist  in  devising  a 
plan  of  help.  In  this  report,  they  suggest  "that 
whatever  differences  and  opinions  may  exist,  we  have 
not  time  now  to  stop  to  discuss  them,  but  will  lay 
them  down,  and  when  Otterbein  University  is  a  fixed 
fact,  and  we  have  reached  the  shore  and  have  noth- 
ing else  of  greater  importance  to  God's  cause  to  look 
after,  we  may  take  them  up  and  discuss  them;  but 
for  the  present,  we  recommend  constant  and  fervent 
prayer,  with  a  union  of  effort,  to  promote  the  inter- 
ests of  the  school."  All  this  has  the  ring  of  Bishop 
Weaver's  pen.  All  resigned,  and  he  was  reelected  to 
the  scholarship  agency. 

The  treasurer  of  the  college.  Dr.  Thomas  McFad- 
den,  in  his  report  for  1860,  says:  "I  cannot  make 
any  statement  of  the  cash  collected  on  endowment 
principal.  The  agents,  in  collecting  money  on  prin- 
cipal and  applying  it  on  their  own  salaries  or  to  the 
wants  of  the  institution,  have  made  their  reports,  not 
to  my  office,  but  to  the  resident  agent" — a  temporary 
misappropriation  of  funds,  which  later  helped  to 
wreck  the  endo^vment  plan. 

In  1861,  Bishop  Weaver  was  again  elected  gen- 
eral financial  agent.  There  are  insinuations  in  the 
records  that  this  was  a  stormy  session.  When  debts 
are  pressing,  and  no  money  to  pay  them,  men  are  not 
always  in  the  best  of  humor.  There  seemed  to  be  an 
earnest  desire  for  larger  donations,  so  as  to  help 
more  speedily  out  of  the  trouble,  and,  with  a  view  '  o 


A  College  Agent,  Completed  i03 

opening  the  way,  he  resigned,  and  D.  K.  Flickinger 
was  elected.  He  took  two  or  three  days  to  consider 
the  matter,  then  finally  declined,  and  Bishop  Weaver 
was  again  elected.  The  trustees  agreed,  substantially, 
in  the  plan  of  the  previous  year.  The  territory  was 
divided  into  two  districts,  Pennsylvania,  Virginia, 
Maryland,  and  Canada  constituted  the  east  district, 
to  which  Bishop  Weaver  was  assigned.  Ohio,  and 
Michigan  constituted  the  west  district,  and  L.  Davis 
was  asked  to  give  his  whole  time  to  the  work  this 
year.  By  this  time  liabilities  had  reached  nearly 
$25,000,  and  matters  looked  a  little  discouraging. 
It  was  about  this  time  Bishop  Weaver  gave  us  this 
account  of  the  pleasures  of  travel:  "Let  the  man 
who  thinks  traveling  is  always  pleasant,  consider  the 
following  facts:  April  7,  I  started  for  home;  had 
been  absent  five  weeks;  anxious  to  see  home  and 
family ;  arrived  at  Coshocton  at  8  a.  m.  ;  train  should 
leave  in  thirty  minutes ;  time  up,  and  no  train.  Go 
to  telegraph  office;  agent  cannot  tell  when  train  will 
come;  look  up  and  down  the  track,  but  no  train  in 
sight ;  three  teeth  aching  horridly ;  go  to  drug-store ; 
have  teeth  plugged  with  cotton  saturated  with  oil  of 
cloves ;  hurry  back  to  depot  for  fear  of  losing  train ; 
teeth  still  aching.  ]^oon,  and  no  train  yet;  eat  din- 
ner, and  try  the  sensation  of  cold  water  on  aching 
teeth ;  buy  the  latest  news,  but  cannot  read ;  from 
six  to  twelve  teeth  aching ;  don't  care  whether  school 
keeps  or  not ;  patience  exerting  all  her  power ;  danger 
of  reason  being  dethroned.  Four  and  a  half  p.  m., 
train  arrives,  and  soon  all  on  board ;  arrive  at  New- 


104  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

ark  at  5:  30  o'clock;  teeth  aching  worse  and  worse; 
there  missed  connection,  and  must  remain  five  hours  \ 
can't  read ;  can't  sleep ;  can't  eat ;  head  now  aching ; 
suppose  it  is  all  right,  but  cannot  exactly  see  it ;  10 :  30 
o'clock,  train  arrives,  and  once  more  we  are  going; 
11:30  o'clock,  we  arrive  in  Columbus ;  seized  my 
carpet-bags  (I  had  two  heavy  ones)  and  started  for 
a  hotel,  and,  after  a  brisk  walk  of  half  a  mile,  reached 
the  place ;  beds  were  all  full,  and  no  chance  of  remain- 
ing for  the  balance  of  the  night ;  teeth  are  in  active 
service ;  patience  nearly  all  gone ;  seized  my  luggage 
and  plunged  into  the  dark  to  hunt  another  hotel; 
found  one ;  landlord  kind,  but  said  beds  were  all  full ; 
no  chance  for  sleeping;  asked  permission  to  remain 
in  the  bar-room ;  it  was  granted,  and  I  was  thankful 
for  small  favors ;  the  gaslight  was  extinguished,  and 
I  was  left  to  my  own  reflections;  by  the  dim  light 
of  a  little  coal-fire  in  the  grate  I  chanced  to  espy  a 
settee,  which,  thanks  to  the  maker,  was  almost  eight 
feet  long,  and  afforded  me  an  opportunity  to  stretch 
my  frame  on  it,  and,  with  a  carpet-bag  for  my  pillow, 
I  essayed  to  sleep,  but  owing  to  the  uproar  in  the 
region  of  my  ivories  I  made  a  total  failure.  Morn- 
ing, yes,  blessed  morning,  the  brightest  and  sweetest 
hour  of  the  day,  at  length  came,  and  I  got  up ;  teeth 
still  aching ;  not  a  bone  in  my  body  seemed  free  from 
pain ;  nine  hours  until  hack  time  ;  dreadful  hours  they 
were;  2;  30  p.  m.,  hack  starts,  and  at  five  I  reach 
home,  teeth  still  aching.  Merciful  Father,  deliver 
me  from  another  such  tour !" 

In  1862,  the  territory  was  divided  into  three  dis- 


A  College  Agents  Completed  105 

tricts,  one  of  which  was  assigned  to  J.  Weaver,  an- 
other to  J.  Walter,  and  the  third  to  L.  Davis.  Bishop 
Weaver  had  Virginia,  Parkersburg,  Pennsylvania, 
East  Pennsylvania,  and  Allegheny  Conferences  as- 
signed to  him.  This  was  later  modified  by  a  plan 
submitted  to  the  executive  committee,  and  which  they 
endorsed.  The  failure  of  the  scholarship  plan  had 
added  to  the  general  debt.  The  burdens  of  the  war 
and  other  hindrances  had  more  or  less  interfered  with 
the  getting  of  money.  The  college  had  commenced 
with  a  debt,  and,  while  now  its  assets  were  greater, 
its  debt  was  also  larger.  Some  plan  had  to  be  de- 
vised whereby  money  could  be  secured  more  rap- 
idly to  meet  this  deficiency  or  wreck  might  come. 
The  responsibility  for  devising  plans  rested  mainly 
on  Bishop  Weaver,  as  financial  agent.  Having  made 
a  fair  estimate  of  the  debt,  he  concluded  that  $30,000 
would  pay  that  and  cover  the  expense  of  securing 
subscriptions,  if  secured  quickly,  and  complete  the 
new  building,  which  was  then  unfinished.  He  took 
the  reports  of  the  various  conferences,  and  made  a 
division  to  them  in  proportion  to  membership  and 
ability  to  pay,  as  well  as  a  pro  rata  assessment  to  each 
field  of  labor  to  cover  this  indebtedness.  His  idea 
was  to  arouse  the  enthusiasm  of  the  members  in  the 
bounds  of  the  cooperating  conferences.  Of  the 
amount  pledged,  none  was  to  be  collected  until  the 
whole  sum  asked  for  had  been  secured.  The  plan 
was  submitted  to  the  executive  committee,  which  ap- 
proved, if  he  had  faith  that  he  could  make  it  succeed. 
His  purpose  was  to  put  a  number  of  agents  in  the 


106  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

field  for  a  short  time  and  rush  the  matter,  rather  than 
have  few  men  and  drag  along  until  the  people  were 
tired.  In  order  to  test  the  matter  before  it  was  finally 
determined  upon,  he  took  a  few  fields  in  Sandusky 
Conference  and  went  to  work,  and  succeeded.  When 
the  board  of  trustees  met,  the  following  year,  they 
did  not  indorse  his  plan,  but,  in  their  judgment, 
larger  amounts  should  be  secured  from  fewer  per- 
sons, and  thus  save  time  and  money.  To  carry  out 
this  measure,  the  board  of  trustees  elected  D.  K. 
Flickinger  as  agent.  He  was  in  office  for  a  few 
days,  seeing  what  could  be  done.  Not  reaching  re- 
sults as  he  expected,  he  resigned,  and  Bishop  Weaver 
was  again  appointed  to  carry  out  his  own  plan.  Even 
to  his  latest  day  he  was  of  the  conviction  that  if  he 
could  have  been  unanimously  and  earnestly  sup- 
ported, he  would  have  received  pledges  for  the  amount 
desired  in  one  year.  During  the  year  1862,  he  vis- 
ited the  Auglaize  Conference,  then  in  session,  as  an 
agent  of  Otterbein  University.  Some  resolutions  had 
been  read  on  the  state  of  the  country.  It  was  a  very 
gloomy  time.  It  looked  a  little,  for  a  time,  as  if  the 
South  might  conquer  us  either  by  Southern  prowess 
or  by  force  of  internal  dissensions.  Bishop  Weaver 
was  called  on  to  make  some  remarks,  and,  among 
other  things,  said :  "We  are  coming  to  a  point  where 
some  of  us  who  are  preaching  will  need  to  enter  the 
ranks  to  help  to  save  the  country.  We  are  like  the 
boy  who  treed  the  coon  on  Sunday.  He  said  to  him- 
self, 'It  will  not  do  to  shoot  it  on  Sunday,  nor  to  cut 
down  the  tree,  but  something  must  be  done  to  get  the 


A  College  Agent,  Completed  107 

coon.'  So,  it  seems  to  me  that  something  must 
be  done  by  the  Christian  people  to  save  the 
nation." 

Mr.  Flickinger,  of  whom  mention  has  been  made, 
once  said  to  the  writer :  ''When  I  was  in  the  mission 
rooms  in  the  Publishing  House,  one  day  Bishop 
Weaver  called  to  see  me,  and  said  to  me,  'Flickinger, 
tell  me  how  to  find  a  man  who  will  give  $1,000  to 
Otterbein  University.'  I  answered  him,  'The  only 
way  to  find  such  a  man  is  to  go  out  and  make  him. 
You  go  out  and  find  a  man  who  ought  to  give  the 
$1,000  to  Otterbein,  and  then,  by  argument,  persua- 
sion, and  logic,  make  him  willing  to  give  it.'  Bishop 
Weaver  could  do  good  talking  for  money,  but  the 
best  thing  is  to  get  the  money." 

Several  agents  were  appointed,  and  they  were  to 
make  monthly  reports  of  their  work  to  L.  Davis,  the 
resident  agent  of  the  college.  It  was  thought  this 
would  not  only  prompt  the  agents  to  more  vigorous 
action,  but  would  encourage  the  people.  By  seeing 
what  others  had  done,  they  would  be  more  encouraged 
to  take  hold  and  help.  In  the  report  for  January, 
1863,  L.  Davis  says :  "J.  Weaver— $136— says,  'The 
brethren  on  Richland  and  Alum  Creek,  Sandusky, 
gave  me  a  good  reception.'  W.  B.  Davis — $53 ; 
'raised  this  in  five  days ;  did  not  begin  till  late.'  D. 
Shrader — $195 ;  'raised  this  in  ten  days;  plan  works 
well.'  J.  Walter — $40 ;  'worked  only  a  few  days ; 
was  attending  conference.'  L,  B.  Perkins — $180 — 
says,  'People  are  interested.'  William  McKee  in- 
cluded January  report  in  what  he  did  since  confer- 


108  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

ence,  $688.45.  J.  B.  Resler,  only  recently  appointed; 
had  not  yet  commenced  work." 

The  report  for  February  gives  a  sum  total  of 
$3,047.38.  Bishop  Weaver  solicited  in  Westerville, 
$660.75.  Said,  ''The  brethren  responded  most  cheer- 
fully, and  will  do  more."  The  writer  of  this  vol- 
lune  sent  a  statement  to  the  Telescope  during  this 
same  month,  as  follows :  ''The  prudential  com- 
mittee called  for  $30,000.  The  agents  responded  to 
it,  and  have  gone  into  the  field  fully  determined  to 
raise  the  amount.  They  have  a  heart  to  work  because 
the  welfare  of  the  Church  demands  it.  Since  the 
present  plan  has  been  adopted,  they  have  been  in  the 
field  less  than  a  month,  and  report  very  favorably. 
As  soon  as  the  people  feel  that  we  mean  to  succeed, 
and  that  if  we  must  go  down,  it  shall  be  with  every 
penny  at  work ;  as  soon  as  they  feel  that  their  money 
will  be  safely  invested,  so  soon  will  that  investment 
be  made.  One  of  the  agents  who  is  familiar  with  the 
whole  field,  says  that  at  'the  rate  they  are  working, 
the  whole  amount  will  be  pledged  in  a  year." 

The  editor  of  the  Telescope  (July  15,  1863)  says: 
"Allow  us  to  add  that  the  two  W.'s  are  making  a 
raid  into  the  Miami  Valley.  And  who  are  the  two 
W.'s  ?  Weaver  and<  Walter,  or  Walter  and  Weaver, 
just  as  you  prefer.  And  they  are  here  to  speak  some 
kind  words  and  to  solicit  generous  deeds  for  the  uni- 
versity. That  is  what  has  brought  them  to  this  val- 
ley, where  money  is  abundant  and  where  the  people 
are  intelligent  and  liberal.  These  dear  brethren  come 
here  with  no  buncombe  propositions,  no  moonshine 


A  College  Agent,  Completed  109 

schemes,  but  with  the  plain  truth.  They  have  a  good 
cause,  and  are  determined  to  sustain  it  by  Christian 
measures.    Let  us  each  say  to  them,  'God  speed  you.'  " 

In  August,  1863,  L.  Davis  makes  report  for  the 
previous  month  of  July,  with  comments  thereon: 
''J.  B.  Resler,  $276 ;  'this  is  a  hard  and  slow  business ; 
try  it  who  will.'  'Darkness  may  last  for  a  night,  but 
joy  Cometh  in  the  morning'  (Davis).  D.  Shrader, 
$115 ;  'could  have  done  more  but  for  the  Morgan 
raid ;  had  to  watch  my  horse  at  night,  and  dare  not 
take  him  out  on  the  road  in  the  daytime.'  'Well, 
Morgan  is  done  gone,  and  we  hope  may  have  a  good 
time  in  the  Ohio  Tavern,  No.  1'  (Davis).  W.  B. 
Davis,  $304;  'pretty  hard  times  to  get  donations. 
The  people  are  afraid  of  the  draft,  and  are  holding 
on  to  their  money ;  think  it  will  be  better  soon ;  not 
discouraged,  however,  but  will  persevere.'  William 
^IcKee,  $103 ;  'I  think  it  might  have  done  some 
persons  a  kindness  if  Morgan  had  stopped  with  them 
and  fed  his  horses  out  of  their  granaries.'  'I  suspect 
you  are  about  right.  Brother  Mc. ;  neither  God  nor 
the  Church  could  get  money  out  of  some  persons, 
but  Morgan  could'  (Davis).  J.  Weaver,  $150  ;  'spent 
most  of  my  time  looking  after  other  interests  of  the 
college' 

"Of  the  $30,000  sought,  we  now  have  $13,000 
pledged.  If  Providence  continues  to  smile  on  us,  we 
will,  within  the  college  year,  reach  the  amount. 
When  this  is  done,  our  college  is  safe.  May  God  give 
us  abundant  success." 

August  19,  Bishop  Weaver  writes :     "It  may  be 


110  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

interesting  to  inform  you  what  we  are  trying  to  do. 
A  few  months  ago,  we  had  a  meeting  of  the  agents, 
and  it  was  resolved  to  raise  $30,000.  This  sum,  it 
was  thought,  would  complete  the  building  and  pay 
our  entire  indebtedness.  We  proposed,  further,  to 
allow  any  one  of  our  friends,  who  might  so  desire, 
to  give  a  conditional  obligation,  to  be  paid  when  the 
whole  amount  was  secured  by  note.  Up  to  this  date 
we  have  $13,000  pledged,  and  we  are  not  without 
good  hope  of  reaching  the  whole  amount.  The  labor 
is  hard  and  difficult,  but  we  are  willing  to  put  up 
wdth  this  if  we  can  only  reach  the  goal  at  last.  We 
call  upon  you  all  in  the  name  of  our  educational  in- 
terests to  do  what  you  can.  .  .  .  Many  of  you 
are  abundantly  able  to  help  us,  and  a  goodly  number 
have  responded,  and  I  believe  God  will  help  us 
through.  If  my  heart  does  not  deceive  me,  and 
wealth  would  not  ruin  me,  I  believe  if  I  had  as  much 
of  this  world's  treasures  as  some  men  have,  I  would 
not  ask  a  single  man  to  help.  I  would  claim  the  privi- 
lege of  doing  it  all  myself.  But,  calamitous  as  it  may 
seem,  I  am  not  rich,  and  must  content  myself  with 
doing  what  I  can.  Let  every  one  do  what  he  can,  and 
we  will  succeed." 

Again,  he  writes  to  explain  the  situation,  and  that 
the  agents  are  doing  all  they  can:  "Our  friends 
sometimes  become  impatient  that  we  do  not  move 
more  rapidly.  I  wish  we  could,  but  we  must  move 
as  best  we  can,  hoping  still  to  gain  the  summit.  I 
have  noticed,  during  the  past  year,  several  instances 
where  men  have  donated  from  ten  to  one  hundred 


A  College  Agent,  Completed  111 

thousand  dollars  to  different  colleges.  Such  dona- 
tions soon  establish  a  college,  and  just  as  soon  as  such 
friends  gather  around  Otterbein  University  we  will 
move  more  rapidly.  I  do  not  complain,  but  still 
when  we  have  to  pick  it  up  in  sums  ranging  from 
twenty-five  cents  to  ten  dollars,  it  is  comparatively 
slow  business." 

In  December  of  the  same  year  (1863),  he  makes 
this  earnest  appeal:  "If  there  ever  was  a  time  in 
the  history  of  this  institution  when  its  friends  should 
not  only  feel,  but  give  evidence  of  a  deep  interest, 
it  is  now.  Of  the  $30,000  sought,  we  have  now  se- 
cured $18,000.  The  salvation  of  the  college  is  made 
to  depend  on  the  consummation  of  this  plan.  Scores 
of  men  who  gave  their  obligations,  to  be  paid  on  con- 
dition that  $30,000  be  secured,  are  ready  to  pay,  and 
would  pay  on  short  notice  if  the  whole  amount  were 
raised.  Thousands  of  dollars  are  ready  for  the  insti- 
tution if  the  whole  amount  were  pledged.  Is  not 
this  enough  to  influence  men  who  have  the  means  to 
lend  us  a  helping  hand  ?" 

By  the  4th  of  May,  1864,  there  had  been  pledged 
about  $24,000  of  the  amount  sought.  He  urges  the 
membership  to  speedily  pledge  the  balance,  and  then 
the  college  can  pay  every  debt  it  owes  and  complete 
the  building.  "My  interests  as  a  Christian  and  minis- 
ter are  identified  with  the  United  Brethren  Church. 
She  took  me  up  when  a  boy,  and  has  treated  me 
kindly.  I  love  her  principles  and  institutions,  and 
cannot  do  otherwise  than  speak  for  her  interests.  I 
have  written  many  things  in  behalf  of  the  college — 


112  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

perhaps  too  much;  but  my  heart  is  full.  When  I 
see  young  men  and  women  coming  from  every  part 
to  obtain  an  education,  and  thereby  the  Christian 
influences  of  a  good  faculty  and  of  the  members  of 
the  Church,  and  I  am  permitted  to  meet  them  at 
the  altar  of  prayer  and  witness  their  conversion  to 
God;  and  then,  too,  when  I  remember  that  this  col- 
lege is  well  represented,  east,  west,  north,  and  south, 
in  the  army,  and  in  heaven  as  well,  I  cannot  but 
speak  words  of  cheer  and  hope  in  behalf  of  Otterbein 
University.     If  I  say  too  much,  forgive  me." 

About  the  same  time,  a  correspondent  follows  up 
this  statement  by  saying:  "It  has  required  all  our 
agents  about  eighteen  months  to  secure  $25,000. 
Think  of  it !  Four  or  five,  or  maybe  more,  agents 
engaged  eighteen  months  in  securing,  not  money,  but 
notes  to  the  amount  named  above,  in  a  church  num- 
bering one  hundred  thousand  members  !" 

At  a  meeting  of  the  board  of  trustees,  June  7, 
1862,  before  the  plan  referred  to  above  had  been 
agreed  upon,  Bishop  Weaver  was  authorized  to  visit 
Allegheny,  Pennsylvania,  East  Pennsylvania,  Park- 
ersburg,  and  Virginia  conferences.  He  attended  the 
session  of  the  Allegheny  Conference,  held  at  Liver- 
pool, Pennsylvania,  and,  at  its  close,  spent  some  three 
weeks  in  canvassing.  He  says,  "I  found  some  warm 
and  zealous  friends  of  our  educational  interests ; 
some,  perhaps,  could  bear  a  little  more  enthusiasm, 
but  I  shall  not  complain."  One  of  the  resolutions 
adopted  by  the  conference  he  was  sure  would  do 
good  if  carried  out:     ''Resolved,  That  we  as  minis- 


A  College  Agent,  Completed  113 

ters  in  charge  of  districts,  circuits,  missions,  and  sta- 
tions, will,  within  the  first  three  months  of  this  con- 
ference year,  present  the  claims  of  Otterbein  Uni- 
versity at  our  several  appointments,  and  secure  by 
donations  in  cash  and  notes  whatever  we  can,  the 
notes  to  be  paid  on  or  before  the  first  of  May,  and 
the  whole  amount  to  be  forwarded  to  J.  B.  Resler." 
From  here  he  went  to  Pennsylvania  Conference,  had 
an  interesting  session,  and  was  kindly  received.  They 
considered  the  interests  of  the  college,  and  a  majority 
were  friendly.  "Some,  however,  for  reasons  best 
known  to  themselves,  exhibit  much  less  sympathy 
then  they  do  for  other  interests  of  the  Church.  It 
is  not  my  place  to  complain,  and  I  shall  not  do  it. 
The  Church  in  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio  must  take 
care  of  the  college  until  our  calamities  are  overpast. 
The  day  is  growing  brighter,  and  we  will,  and  must 
succeed.  Of  the  abundance  God  has  given  you,  lend 
a  portion  to  the  cause  of  education." 

In  1864,  the  board  of  trustees  passed  the  follow- 
ing resolution :  "The  report  of  J.  Weaver  gives  evi- 
dence that  he  has  pursued  a  very  proper  course,  and 
we  consider  him  worthy  of  our  entire  confidence  and 
entitled  to  our  warmest  thanks  for  his  untiring  en- 
ergy and  judicious  management,  by  which  the  credit 
of  the  college  has  been  secured,  its  appearance  im- 
proved, and  its  future  prospects  so  largely  increased. 
Let  us  thank  God  and  take  courage." 

In  his  last  report  as  general  agent,  June,  1865,  he 
says :  "We  have  sustained  considerable  loss  in  assets 
because  of  deaths  and  removals  and  frequent  calls 


114  Biography  of  Jo7iathan  "Weaver 

for  men  to  enter  the  service  of  their  country.  These 
frequent  calls  for  men  and  money  have  very  much 
retarded  the  work  of  collecting.  !N"ow  that  the  war 
is  over,  we  may  reasonably  hope  for  a  brighter  day 
to  dawn  upon  Otterbein  University." 

Had  the  $30,000  been  promptly  pledged,  as  per- 
haps it  would  have  been  had  there  been  concert  of  ac- 
tion, and  as  promptly  paid,  it  would  have  left  the 
college  in  a  safe  condition ;  but  these  were  war  times, 
and  pledges  honestly  made,  and  with  good  interest, 
were  not  always  paid.  The  board,  at  this  same  ses- 
sion, when  Mr.  Weaver  retired  from  the  agency, 
passed  the  following  resolutions:  "In  view  of  the 
fact  that  from  four  to  six  thousand  dollars  have  been 
consumed  in  the  long  delay  in  securing  the  amount, 
and  from  persons  having  subscribed  joining  the  army, 
and  from  accumulations  of  interest,  and  other  causes, 
thus  failing  by  so  much  of  meeting  our  indebtedness 
and  making  the  necessary  improvements  upon  the  col- 
lege building;  therefore,  the  agent  be  required  to  con- 
tinue to  solicit  donations  to  make  up  this  deficiency." 

So  his  official  work  ended ;  he  had  been  called 
to  a  different  sphere.  It  had  been  a  severe,  but,  after 
all,  a  good  school.  Tor  eight  long  years  he  had  toiled 
always,  and  toiled  successfully,  at  what  has  been 
called  by  some  the  thankless  work  of  a  college  agent. 
He  had  learned  more  of  his  own  powers  and  possi- 
bilities, wherein  he  was  strong  and  wherein  he  was 
wanting.  He  had  ascertained  more  of  the  peculiari- 
ties and  weaknesses  of  human  nature  than  ever  he 
had  known  before.    He  had  learned  of  the  selfishness 


A  College  Agent,  Completed  115 

of  the  many  as  well  as  of  the  liberality  and  generosity 
of  the  few ;  of  the  narrowness  of  many,  their  cramped, 
confined  lives,  and  of  the  broader  view  of  others.  He 
had  learned  how  to  adapt  himself  to  the  homes  and 
hearts  of  a  rural  people,  so  as  to  allay  their  selfish- 
ness and  awaken  their  generosity.  He  had  learned 
of  the  sterling  qualities  of  our  people,  and  their  de- 
voted Christian  lives.  His  own  views  of  colleges  and 
college  education  had  been  greatly  broadened.  Al- 
ways in  sympathy  with  them,  so  far  as  he  knew  their 
purpose,  henceforth  he  was  the  fast  friend  of  college 
and  seminary  training.  He  saw,  as  he  never  saw 
before,  the  great  blessing  college  training  must  bring, 
especially  to  the  ministry  of  the  Church,  and  his  con- 
duct toward  these  institutions  in  the  future  was  clear 
and  decided. 

Amid  the  sorrows  and  desolation  and  gloom  of  the 
Civil  War,  which  none  can  understand  so  well  as  those 
who  passed  through  them ;  amid  the  dissatisfaction 
and  complaining  of  what  seemed  to  some  to  be  unfair 
dealing  concerning  the  so-called  manual  labor  prob- 
lem, having  pressed  men  to  buy  scholarships,  and 
then  having  been  compelled  to  go  to  them  again  and 
tell  them  the  system  had  failed,  and  that  the  promises 
of  the  managers  could  not  be  kept ;  amid  all  these,  and 
many  other  discouraging  surroundings,  his  courage 
and  faith  never  flinched.  He  kept  heart  and  hope  and 
faith  in  his  patrons.  So  far  as  one  man  could  do, 
under  heavy  financial  depression  in  the  country,  he 
kept  the  financial  standing  good.  Amid  the  complain- 
ing and  fretting  of  some  who  should  have  stood  by 


116  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

him,  and  the  indifference  of  others  who  should  have 
held  up  his  hands  by  pen,  and  prayer,  and  persistent 
work  at  home  and  abroad,  under  any  and  all  circum- 
stances, he  kept  cheerily  on  his  way,  bearing  the  heavy 
burden  put  upon  him  until  relieved  from  duty,  and 
called  to  another  field  elsewhere.  Otterbein  Univer- 
sity owes  him  an  everlasting  debt  of  gratitude  for 
what  he  sought  to  do  for  her. 


Rev.  Jonathan  Weaver.— About  1802. 


CHAPTEK  VII. 
Becomes  a  Bishop — 1865. 

The  General  Conference  of  1861  met  in  Wester- 
ville,  Ohio,  and  Bishop  Weaver  was  a  delegate  thereto. 
Here  he  received  twenty-one  votes  for  bishop;  later, 
was  elected  bishop  for  the  Pacific  Coast,  but,  after 
due  consideration,  he  resigned  the  position.  The  ex- 
pense of  removal  seemed  too  great  for  his  limited 
resources.  The  condition  of  things  at  the  Coast 
seemed  to  demand  that  a  visit  be  made  during  the 
summer,  and  his  circumstances  would  not  allow  him 
to  go.  Finally,  D.  Shuck  was  elected  in  his  stead, 
and  went  to  the  Coast.  In  June,  1861,  the  trustees 
of  Otterbein  University  elected  him  general  financial 
agent.  This  increased  his  responsibility,  for  now  the 
financial  management  of  the  institution  was  substan- 
tially in  his  hands. 

During  the  following  four  years,  he  kept  his  pen 
busy  in  writing,  as  occasion  would  allow,  for  the 
Church  paper.  Its  readers  soon  knew  what  he 
thought,  for  he  had  nothing  to  conceal  from  them,  and 
they  soon  learned  that,  while  moderately  conservative, 
he  was,  at  the  same  time,  a  growing  man.  In  his 
work  as  agent,  he  had  visited  a  number  of  conferences, 
and  had  become  personally  acquainted  with  the  min- 
istry.   He  had  talked  with  our  members  around  their 

117 


118  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

own  firesides.  He  had  shown  his  skill  in  raising 
money,  and  in  such  a  way  that  those  who  gave  had 
kindly  memories  of  him.  He  knew  not  only  how  to 
plan,  but  how  to  consummate  his  own  plans.  Who  so 
competent  as  he  to  lead  the  whole  Church  out  into 
new  fields  of  activity  and  point  her  members  to  more 
glorious  things  yet  to  be  achieved  ?  So,  when  he  came 
to  the  General  Conference  of  1865,  which  met  in 
Western,  Iowa,  he  was  already  a  well-known  and 
well-tried  man,  whom  the  Church  could  afford  to 
trust. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  session,  it  was  proposed 
to  raise  a  fund  of  forty  thousand  dollars,  so  as  to  pay 
off  the  heavy  debt  the  Publishing  House  was  carry- 
ing. It  was  urged,  among  other  reasons  for  so  doing, 
that  only  in  this  way  could  the  Telescope  be  enlarged. 
It  was  too  small,  and  did  not  properly  represent  us, 
said  some.  One  delegate  favored  the  proposition  to 
raise  the  money,  but  he  did  not  like  to  hear  contumely 
cast  on  this  paper.  He  was  not  ashamed  of  its  size. 
It  was  brains,  not  the  size  of  the  sheet,  that  made 
the  paper ;  it  compared  favorably  in  size  with 
other  papers,  and  few,  if  any,  surpassed  it  in 
ability. 

In  commenting  on  this  statement,  Bishop  Weaver 
amused  the  Conference  not  a  little  by  accepting  the 
stateiment  made,  that  it  was  brains  and  not  size  that 
made  a  paper.  For  himself,  he  had  come  to  the  con- 
clusion that,  no  matter  what  amount  of  brains  a  man 
had,  he  must  have  space  on  which  to  spread  them.  If 
not,  then  one  had  better  reduce  his  brains  one-half. 


Becomes  a  Bishop  119 

Perhaps  a  greater  contraction  of  the  brains  might 
have  a  beneficial  effect.  After  all  that  had  been  said 
about  brains,  he  had  no  doubt  all  desired  a  larger 
paper.  Many  would  write  more  if  they  knew  there 
was  room  for  their  contributions  in  the  Telescope. 
He  liked  the  brains  idea,  for  he  was  himself  a  con- 
tributor. 

The  bishops,  in  their  address,  among  other  things, 
said:  "We  desire  to  call  attention  to  the  fact 
that  something  further  should  be  done  for  the  train- 
ing of  our  young  ministers.  Never  was  there  a  time 
when  there  was  wanting  more  than  now  a  thoroughly 
cultivated  ministry  in  this  Church.  We  suggest  tliat 
some  plan,  superior,  if  possible,  to  the  present  course 
of  reading  and  often  too  slight  examinations,  be 
adopted  and  imposed  upon  the  annual  conferences, 
to  receive  to  the  pulpit  improved  ability  and  mental 
training." 

A  committee  on  education  was  appointed,  and  when 
they  reported  they  recommended  the  establishing  of 
a  theological  department  in  Otterbein  University. 
This  was  a  very  indiscreet  thing  to  do,  and  Bishop 
Weaver  had  the  good  sense  to  see  it.  ISTot  but  such 
an  institution  was  a  desirable  thing,  but  these  men, 
trained  as  they  had  been,  were  in  no  mood  to  adopt 
it.  To  prevent  its  destruction,  he  had  the  report  re- 
ferred back  to  the  committee,  intending  to  have  it 
amended,  which  he  did  by  the  following:  "We 
recommend  that  the  trustees  of  our  several  colleges 
take  under  advisement  the  propriety  of  connecting 
w'ith  their  schools,  as  soon  as  practicable,  biblical  de- 


120  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

partments,  embracing  the  course  of  study  recom- 
mended in  our  Discipline." 

It  might  not  be  out  of  place  to  state  parenthetically, 
as  a  matter  of  history,  that  the  conference  of  1848, 
which  met  at  Warner's  meeting-house,  Stark  County, 
Ohio,  beginning  November  2,  and  at  which  time  and 
place  Bishop  Weaver  was  ordained,  passed  the  follow- 
ing resolution :  "That  we  as  members  of  the  annual 
conference  pray  the  General  Conference,  through  the 
medium  of  our  delegates,  that  they  introduce  a  clause 
into  the  Discipline  governing  our  institutions  of 
learning,  so  that  they  shall  not  become  theological  in- 
stitutions, but  remain  as  literary  institutions." 

Bishop  Weaver  followed  this  with  some  appro- 
priate and  kindly  remarks,  urging  that  we  were  not 
yet  financially  prepared  for  a  theological  department 
by  twenty  or  thirty  or  forty  years.  But  students 
were  converted  at  Otterbein,  and  felt  called  upon  to 
preach.  Why  not  teach  them  such  things  as  they  are 
required  to  study  by  the  annual  conference?  The 
ministry  is  the  highest  office  on  earth.  If  a  man  fol- 
lows any  other  pursuit,  he  must  be  trained  for  it. 
True,  Jesus  had  called  unlearned  men,  but  he  taught 
them  long  and  faithfully  before  sending  them  out. 
God  will  help  men  to  preach,  but  he  did  not  believe 
that  God  had  placed  himself  under  obligations  to 
work  a  miracle  every  time  a  man  preached.  Some 
said  they  would  go  into  the  pulpit  and  give  the  people 
just  what  God  gave  them.  He  knew  a  man  who  went 
into  the  pulpit  and  waited  for  the  Lord  to  give  him 
something,  and  the  Lord  gave  him  nothing.    He  tried 


jBecomes  a  Bishop  121 

this  again  and  again,  and  failed  every  time.  Then 
he  studied,  and  the  Lord  gave  him.  a  sermon.  Re- 
ligion and  education  go  together. 

He  asked  that  the  matter  be  fairly  discussed,  and 
it  was,  most  of  those  who  spoke  speaking  in  favor  of 
it.  Isaac  Kretzinger  thought  that  in  four  years  we 
would  give  it  the  name  which  really  belonged  to  it,  a 
theological  department,  and  he  proved  to  be  a  good 
prophet.  To  prevent  a  step  of  that  kind.  Bishop  Ed- 
wards advised  that  the  word  "classes"  be  substituted 
for  "departments,"  which  was  done,  and  Bishop 
Weaver's  amendment  then  prevailed.  The  result  was, 
in  due  time,  a  theological  seminary. 

Take  it  all  in  all,  this  was  an  interesting  Confer- 
ence. It  was  just  after  the  war,  during  which  the 
Church  in  many  places  had  been  in  trouble.  It  was 
time  to  plan  for  new  work.  A  resolution  of  confi- 
dence in  Bishop  Glossbrenner,  who  had  been  in  the 
South,  was  passed.  Early  in  the  session,  information 
came  that  Jefferson  Davis  was  captured,  and  Bishop 
Edwards,  by  permission  of  the  chair,  made  the  an- 
nouncement. There  was  great  cheering,  and  Bishop 
Markwood  was  pressed  to  make  a  speech,  but  de- 
clined. Instead,  the  doxology  was  sung.  A  plan  was 
set  on  foot  to  raise  a  fund  of  forty  thousand  dollars 
to  meet  the  Publishing  House  debt.  The  Missionary 
Visitor  was  started,  to  give  information  concerning 
missions.  After  no  little  discussion,  a  form  of  con- 
stitution for  Sabbath  schools  was  adopted,  and  made 
general,  the  first  in  the  history  of  the  Church. 

Bishop  Weaver  had  written  a  great  deal  for  the 


122  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

Church  paper,  partly  in  the  interests  of  Otterbein 
University,  and,  besides  this,  articles  on  miscellaneous 
subjects.  He  had  quite  a  fondness  for  it,  which  lasted 
till  the  day  of  his  death.  Up  to  within  a  very  little 
time  of  his  passing  away,  he  had  a  pad  of  paper  and 
a  pencil  on  his  bed  to  jot  down  a  thought  as  it  came 
to  him.  He  used  the  plain,  simple  words  familiar 
to  the  common  people.  There  was  no  attempt  at  in- 
volved rhetoric  or  a  stilted  style.  He  wrote  to  be 
understood,  and  the  most  common  mind  knew  what 
he  meant  In  many  of  his  articles  there  was  a  vein 
of  humor  running  which  made  them  readable  to  the 
common  people.  He  could  say  severe  things,  but  in 
such  a  good-humored  way  that  men  read  them  with- 
out becoming  angry.  His  manner  of  putting  things 
was  very  appropriate  for  the  years  through  which 
the  Church  had  just  passed.  John  Lawrence,  who 
had  been  a  successful  editor  for  years,  had  resigned 
and  gone  to  the  army,  and  D.  Berger  had  been  chosen 
by  the  executive  committee  to  fill  out  the  interim. 
ISTow  a  new  man  must  be  chosen.  Many  friends  of 
Bishop  Weaver  wanted  him  for  this  place.  The  bal- 
lot for  an  editor  was  first  taken,  and  resulted  in  forty- 
five  votes  for  Berger,  forty  for  Weaver,  and  two  for 
McKee.  Berger  was  therefore  elected.  A  little  later, 
when  the  ballot  for  bishops  was  taken,  he  received 
forty-nine  votes,  which  were  more  than  enough  to 
elect. 

At  a  later  date  in  his  life,  his  name  was  again  sug- 
gested for  editor  by  some  ardent  friends,  and  to  their 
earnest  appeals  he  replied:     "This  matter  has  been 


Hecomes  a  Hishop  123 

urged  upon  me  by  a  number  of  other  friends,  but  I 
have  felt  all  the  time  that  while  I  love  to  write,  and 
perhaps  have  more  strength  along  that  line  than  any 
other,  (not  much  on  any  line,)  yet  I  cannot  drive  from 
my  mind  the  conviction  that  I  lack  the  necessary 
ability  to  fill  that  place  as  it  ought  to  be  filled  at  this 
time.  My  early  advantages  were  but  poor,  and  what 
little  progress  I  have  made  was  through  solid  rock.  It 
seems  to  me  that  I  am  too  old  to  undertake  a  new 
work.  There  are  certainly  many  things  I  should  have 
to  learn  that  I  do  not  now  understand.  This  much 
I  will  say :  if  a  majority  of  my  brethren  think  that  I 
can  do  more  for  the  Church  in  the  capacity  of  an  edi- 
tor than  in  any  other,  I  shall  not  refuse  to  undertake 
it."  His  own  convictions  were  respected,  and  he  was 
left  to  do  the  work  for  which  experience  had  shown 
him  to  be  fitted. 

Had  he  been  elected  editor,  it  is  probable  his  life 
would  have  been  thereby  materially  changed,  as  well 
as  his  influence  in  the  Church.  Looking  back  from 
our  own  standpoint,  after  his  labors  are  all  over,  we 
think  the  Church  did  a  wise  thing  in  making  him 
bishop.  After  his  first  election,  he  was  reelected  at 
each  succeeding  quadrennium  as  long  as  he  lived. 
In  the  division  of  labor  by  the  bishops,  his  lot  was 
cast  with  what  was  called  the  East  Mississippi  Dis- 
trict, consisting  of  White  River,  Upper  Wabash,  In- 
diana, Lower  Wabash,  Illinois,  Illinois  Central,  St. 
Joseph,  and  North  Michigan  conferences. 

The  first  conference  held  by  him  in  his  new  rela- 
tion was  the  White  River,  which  convened  at  Blue 


124  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

River  Church,  Shelby  County,  Indiana,  August  17, 
1865.  During  the  conference,  in  addition  to  his  regu- 
lar duties,  he  delivered  an  educational  address  in  the 
interests  of  Hartsville  University,  and  received,  in 
money  and  pledges,  $262.35.  A  vote  of  thanks  was 
tendered  him  "for  the  very  eflBcient  and  Christianlike 
manner  in  which  he  has  presided  over  the  delibera- 
tions of  the  conference.'-' 

Upper  Wabash  Conference  was  held  at  Perrysville, 
Vermilion  County,  Indiana,  beginning  August  24, 
1868.  This  was  an  interesting  and  vigorous  session. 
Some  radical  and  aggressive  resolutions  were  passed. 
The  conference  pledged  a  "hearty  cooperation  in 
building  up  Westfield  College" ;  urged  that  Sabbath 
schools  within  its  bounds  be  kept  open  all  the  year, 
whenever  possible,  and  that  our  Church  literature 
be  everywhere  taken ;  ministers  be  urged  to  preach  on 
temperance ;  they  were  more  than  ever  to  rebuke  pro- 
fane and  immoral  language ;  they  were  to  discourage 
the  wearing  of  fine  clothes,  "for  many  poor  people 
who  are  not  able  to  keep  up  with  their  better-favored 
neighbors  feel  themselves  embarrassed  and  become 
discouraged  in  attending  church ;  many  children  are 
kept  from  Sabbath  school  mainly  because  their  par- 
ents are  not  able  to  dress  them  as  well  as  their  neigh- 
bors' children  are  dressed ;  therefore,  we  recommend 
that  our  brethren  and  sisters  dress  plainly  for  the 
sake  of  the  poor ;  moreover,  it  is  wrong  to  spend  the 
Lord's  money  in  extravagant  dressing;  Christians 
are  responsible  for  the  manner  in  which  they  use  their 
money,  for  their  money  is  the  Lord's,  and  they  should 


Becomes  a  Bishop  125 

use  it  as  the  Lord's  stewards,"  They  rejoice  that 
most  ministers  have  laid  aside  the  "filthy  practice 
of  using  tobacco ;  but  still  there  are  some,  and,  to  our 
sorrow,  we  have  no  hope  that  they  ever  will  reform ; 
but  there  is  hope  that  the  day  is  coming  when  the  use 
of  tobacco  by  ministers  of  the  gospel  will  be  as  un- 
popular as  the  use  of  ardent  spirits."  The  tobacco- 
using  minister  must  have  listened  with  breathless  in- 
terest while  this  was  being  discussed.  The  conference 
also  urges  the  brethren  in  the  ministry  who  have  laid 
aside  the  razor  to  use  moderation  in  wearing  the 
moustache.  "It  is  very  unbecoming  at  the  Lord's 
table  for  persons  to  soak  or  dip  their  moustaches  in 
the  Lord's  cup."  They  resolved  against  slavery  and 
in  support  of  the  Government;  they  have  no  sym- 
pathy with  avowed  traitors ;  they  do  sympathize  with 
those  who  have  lost  friends  in  the  war,  and  they  ex- 
tend the  hand  of  welcome  to  returning  soldiers ;  they 
assimie  their  share  of  the  Publishing  House  debt,  and 
pledge  themselves  to  help  increase  the  circulation  of 
our  literature. 

The  Lower  Wabash  Conference  met  at  Parkers- 
burg,  Richland  County,  Illinois,  September  7,  1865. 
Westfield  College  was  located  in  its  bounds,  and  it 
pledged  loyalty  to  this  institution,  placing  W.  C. 
Smith  and  J.  F.  Moore  in  the  field  as  agents.  The 
members  agree  to  a  more  vigorous  activity  in  behalf 
of  Sabbath-school  work,  believing  this  to  be  the  hope- 
ful field  of  the  Church,  and  will  use  our  own  litera- 
ture in  all  their  schools.  They  give  one  of  their  men 
as  agent  for  the  American  Sabbath-School  Union. 


126  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

They  put  themselves  on  record  as  against  all  pro- 
fanity, Sabbath-breaking,  the  use  of  tobacco,  and 
gaudy  and  costly  clothing.  They  rejoice  that  the 
nation  has  been  saved ;  they  pray  that  just  retribution 
may  overtake  traitors;  they  sympathize  with  those 
who  have  lost  loved  ones  in  the  army;  they  believe 
all,  without  exception  of  color,  should  be  put  on  an 
equality  before  the  law;  they  require  preachers  to 
read  the  Discipline  once  a  quarter ;  they  will  be  more 
active  in  pushing  missionary  interests,  and  they  will 
assume  their  division  of  the  Publishing  House  debt 

Illinois  Conference  convened  at  Astoria,  Fulton 
County,  Illinois,  September  21,  1865.  They  were  still 
embarrassed  over  the  indebtedness  of  Blandenville 
Seminary,  and,  for  this  reason,  were  not  yet  ready  to 
cooperate  with  Westfield  College,  but  would  do  all 
they  could  to  send  thither  their  young  people  who 
want  an  education.  They  pledge  themselves  tO'  keep 
agitating  against  the  sinfulness  of  chewing  and  smok- 
ing tobacco;  will  preach  on  intemperance  as  well  as 
against  Sabbath-breaking,  and  publicly  and  privately 
will  exhort  their  members  to  set  better  examples ;  they 
will  patronize  the  Bible  cause,  and  close  with  thank- 
ing the  bishop  for  presiding  over  them  with  great 
ability. 

Central  Illinois  Conference  met  at  Decatur,  Illi- 
nois, September  28,  1865.  While  here.  Bishop 
Weaver  wrote  a  brief  article  for. the  Telescope,  en- 
titled "Taste,"  defining  the  various  kinds  and  show- 
ing how  it  may  be  educated,  and  ends  with  a  personal 
application  to  himself,  which  many  others,  no  doubt. 


Becomes  a  Bishop  127 

could  appreciate:  "There  are  some  things  against 
which  I  have  a  positive  distaste.  My  whole  nature 
repulses  them  because  they  produce  neither  pleasure 
nor  comfort.  I  refer  to  ague,  chills,  fever,  and  qui- 
nine. To  be  cold  in  a  hot  day,  and  tremble  and  shake 
without  any  visible  human  agency  is  intolerable,  and, 
what  is  more  distasteful,  if  possible,  is  that  the  little 
matter  of  qintting  to  shake  is  not  left  to  one's  own 
notion.  You  may  brace  yourself  as  you  please ;  it  will 
soon  limber  you  up.  But  when  it  does  stop,  it  is  fol- 
lowed by  fever — hot  as  fire.  Now,  hurrah  for  a  good 
time  !  Carried  from  forty  degrees  below  zero  to  boil- 
ing heat  in  about  fifty  minutes.  Last,  but  not  least, 
comes  the  quinine.  How  indescribably  mean  it 
tastes.  It  must  be  the  quintessence  of  that  bitterness 
of  which  the  Bible  gives  an  account.  I  repeat,  this  is 
not  my  style.  Those  who  can  educate  themselves  to 
it,  and  enjoy  it,  can  have  all  the  comfort  there  is  in 
it.  I  shall  prefer  to  be  let  alone.  It  seems  to  me 
if  the  Shaking  Quakers  would  send  missionaries 
through  this  country,  they  might  be  favored  with 
large  accessions  to  their  church." 

St.  Joseph  Conference  assembled  at  Galveston, 
Cass  County,  Indiana,  October  5,  1865.  Its  members 
pledge  their  support  to  Bourbon  Seminary  and  to 
Sabbath-school  work,  and  to  the  raising  of  missionary 
funds ;  they  rejoice  over  the  downfall  of  slavery ;  com- 
mend the  publications  of  the  Church,  and  assume 
their  proportion  of  the  indebtedness;  they  resolve 
against  profanity,  intemperance,  Sabbath-breaking, 
the  use  of  tobacco,  and  return  thanks  to  the  bishop 


128  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weave? 

for  the  "able  and  kind  manner  in  which  he  has  pre- 
sided over  us." 

North  Michigan  Conference  met  in  Woodland, 
Barry  County,  Michigan,  October  15,  1865.  The 
members  assumed  their  portion  of  the  Publishing 
House  debt ;  urged  the  sending  forth  of  more  mis- 
sionaries ;  preachers  were  asked  to  give  more  time  to 
Sabbath-school  work.  The  committee  on  moral  re- 
form mentioned  the  sins  of  profanity,  secrecy,  intem- 
perance, lying,  wearing  of  jewelry,  use  of  tobacco  in 
any  form,  tattling,  and  sitting  in  time  of  prayer,  as 
wicked  and  demoralizing,  vile  and  debasing,  unbe- 
coming and  wasteful,  filthy  and  disgusting,  mean  and 
contemptible,  disgraceful  and  irreverent,  none  of 
which  should  be  tolerated,  and  the  conference  so 
voted.  God's  hand  was  acknowledged  in  the  over- 
throw of  slavery ;  thanks  were  voted  to  the  soldiers ; 
sympathy  expressed  with  those  who  were  bereaved; 
confidence  expressed  in  the  school  at  Leoni ;  ministers 
urged  to  study  geography  and  English  grammar; 
thanks  voted  the  bishop  for  his  manner  of  presiding. 

At  the  close  of  his  five  conferences.  Bishop  Weaver 
visited  various  fields,  aiding  as  best  he  could 
in  the  prosecution  of  the  work.  We  find  him,  De- 
cember 15,  at  Vermilion,  Illinois,  aiding  Eev.  Mr. 
IN'ewgent.  From  the  25th  to  the  26th,  he  is  at  West- 
field,  Illinois,  aiding  in  a  meeting  there.  He  speaks 
encouragingly  of  the  college  there.  It  is  young,  but 
full  of  life.  Professor  Jackson  is  in  charge,  and 
about  ninety  students  are  in  attendance.  An  addi- 
tional building  is  needed,  and  he  calls  on  the  cooperat- 


Becomes  a  Bishop  129 

ing  conferences  to  come  to  the  lielp  of  the  college. 
Commends  Agents  Smith  and  Moore  as  safe  men  and 
good  financiers. 

In  his  annual  report,  made  February  7,  1866,  the 
increase  of  members  was  2,728.  He  urges  that  they 
seek  to  double  this  number  during  the  coming  year. 
To  do  this,  "seek  for  entire  consecration  to  God  and 
his  service.  Without  this,  every  other  qualification, 
however  needful  in  its  place,  cannot  fit  us  for  the 
work.  It  is  God's  cause,  and  our  success  depends 
upon  him.  If  he  does  not  go  before  us,  how  shall  we 
lead  the  flock  of  God  ?  I  trust  you  will  also  look 
after  the  various  interests  of  the  Church.  Do  not 
put  off  until  the  end  of  the  year  what  ought  to  be  at- 
tended to  now.  Jesus  said,  ^I  must  work  the  works 
of  him  that  sent,  me  while  it  is  day.'  Yes,  Jesus 
worked,  and  so  must  we.  There  is  rest,  but  not  here. 
Accept  my  thanks  for  the  brotherly  kindness  extended 
to  me  during  my  visit  among  you." 

With  meager  salaries  there  is  always  a  temptation 
to  the  ordinary  minister  to  divide  up  his  time  and 
energies  and  give  a  portion  of  it  to  the  ministry. 
Bishop  Weaver  never  grew  weary  in  urging  men  to 
give  themselves  wholly  to  their  work.  In  a  com- 
munication written  about  this  time,  he  argues  thus: 
"When  a  man  has  a  purpose  fully  settled  and  fixed 
in  his  heart,  and  throws  all  his  energies  and  powers 
into  it,  we  cannot  tell  how  much  he  may  accomplish. 
It  M'as  this  that  gave  Luther  and  his  coadjutors  their 
power.  If  the  ministers  and  the  Church  were  this 
day  wholly  consecrated  to  God,  it  would  not  be  long 


130  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

until  the  whole  world  would  be  evangelized.  Then 
would  the  ministers  and  churches  be  coworkers  with 
God.  Hills  and  mountains  would  be  leveled,  deserts 
would  be  made  fertile  plains,  and  the  wilderness 
would  blossom  as  the  rose.  The  wandering  Arab 
would  sit  and  sing  at  the  Messiah's  feet,  and  the  fol- 
lowers of  Confucius  would  take  up  their  crosses  and 
follow  Christ. 

"Converted  men  and  women  cannot  be  conquered. 
They  may  be  crushed,  but  cannot  be  conquered  so 
long  as  they  hold  their  consecration  sacred.  Paul  was 
beheaded,  John  was  banished,  Peter  was  crucified,  the 
martyrs  were  burned,  but  they  were  not  conquered. 
So  with  Christians  now.  If  they  are  wholly  devoted 
to  God  and  his  service,  they  cannot  be  conquered. 
They  will  make  everything  bend  to  God  and  his  cause. 

"We  are  but  the  husks  of  men.  We  are  not  conse- 
crated. We  are  divided  in  our  interests.  Our  power 
for  good  is  broken.  Many  seem  to  hang  on  to  th& 
ministry,  not  because  their  souls  are  wholly  devoted 
to  it,  but  it  suits  their  convenience  and  taste  better 
than  some  other  calling.  Men  and  women  hang  on 
to  the  church,  not  because  they  desire  its  prosperity 
above  everything  else,  but  they  would  rather  be  in 
than  out." 

With  the  close  of  his  conferences,  there  was  more 
time  for  his  pen,  and  it  did  not  lie  idle.  The  war 
having  closed,  and  slavery  having  been  decided  il- 
legal, there  was  now  some  veering  about  and  chang- 
ing of  relations.  The  United  Brethren  Church  hav- 
ing been  antislavery  from  its  beginning,  did  not  need 


Becomes  a  Bishop  131 

to  change;  others  that  had  been  silent  on  this  mon- 
ster evil,  even  if  not,  indeed,  in  sympathy  with  it, 
had  to  spread  their  sails  anew.  This  led  to  an  ar- 
ticle, entitled  "Public  Sentiment,"  in  which  he  sought 
to  show  the  straightforward  policy  of  the  Church. 
Many  men.  are  controlled  by  public  sentiment,  and 
so  are  churches.  Slavery  is  no  greater  sin  than  be- 
fore, but  churches  now  oppose  it  which  were  silent 
before.  These  sort  of  men  and  churches  sustain  about 
the  same  relation  to  moral  reform  that  the  weather- 
cock does  to  the  wind.  The  United  Brethren  Church 
has  never  depended  for  her  position  upon  public  sen- 
timent. I  remember  when  her  ministers  were  per- 
secuted almost  to  death  because  they  dared  to  stand 
up  and  plead  the  cause  of  the  poor  slave.  I  remem- 
ber when  her  Church  periodicals  were  burned  in  the 
street  because  they  advocated  the  sentiment  of  uni- 
versal freedom.  If  she  had  followed  public  senti- 
ment, her  nominal  strength  would  be  three  times  as 
great  as  it  is.  A  thousand  times  she  has  been  re- 
quested to  expunge  the  law  relating  to  slavery,  and 
a  thousand  times  she  has  responded,  !N'o.  So  far  as 
I  know,  the  United  Brethren  Church  was  the  first 
to  give  an  official  decision  on  the  question  of  equal 
rights  before  the  law.  She  did  not  want  to  see 
whether  the  wind  would  blow  hot  or  cold.  The  ques- 
tion was.  Is  it  right  ?  Since  that  time,  so  far  as  I 
know,  the  annual  conferences  have  endorsed  the  ac- 
tion of  the  General  Conferences. 

"Men  who  have  done  most  for  the  world,  and  whose 
influence  is  most  felt  after  they  were  dead,  were  not 


132  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

men  controlled  bj  public  sentiment.  They  were  per- 
secuted and  denounced  when  living,  and  worshiped 
when  thej  were  gone.  We  need  men  and  churches 
that  will  take  riglii  as  their  basis,  and  then  act  upon 
it  whatever  may  be  the  popular  opinion." 

During  the  close  of  1865  and  the  early  part  of 
1866,  the  subject  of  instrumental  music  in  the 
Church  had  quite  an  airing.  The  previous  General 
Conference  had  advised  against  it.  Bishops  Mark- 
wood  and  Edwards  endorsed  the  action  of  the  Con- 
ference and  opposed  the  use  of  instruments.  Dr. 
S.  B.  Allen  and  others  found  nothing  in  the  Bible  to 
condemn  their  use.  Bishop  Weaver  claims  that,  as 
they  are  all  good  men,  how  can  he  arrive  at  any  sat- 
isfactory conclusions  from  their  opinions  ?  He  thinks 
the  use  of  such  music  cannot  be  determined  by  the 
opinion  of  men,  nor  by  the  influence  it  exerts  over 
Christian  churches.  It  must  be  settled  by  the  Word 
of  God.  So  he  proceeds  to  pen  his  views.  After 
some  preliminary  explanations,  he  says:  "My  con- 
clusion is,  that  whatever  was  believed  and  practiced 
in  the  church  prior  to  the  coming  of  Christ,  and  not 
forbidden  by  him  or  his  apostles,  may  be  used  now. 
Instrumental  music  was  used  in  the  church  of  God 
under  the  divine  appointment  as  a  medium  of  praise, 
and  was  not  forbidden  either  by  Christ  or  his  apos- 
tles, and  therefore  it  is  right  to  use  the  same  medium 
of  praise  in  the  church  of  Christ  now. 

"When  the  people  wandered  away  from  God,  and 
when  they  went  into  captivity,  they  never  used  their 
instruments;  but  when  they  returned  to  their  for- 


Becomes  a  Hishop  133 

saken  altars  and  God's  approbation  rested  upon  them, 
they  would  bring  forward  their  instruments  and  sing 
praises  to  God,  and  play  skillfully  upon  the  harp.  It 
was  not  the  ensign  of  Baal  nor  an  engine  of  formal- 
ism, but  a  sign  of  prosperity  in  the  church  of  God. 
Where,  then,  lies  the  formidable  objection  to  the  use 
of  an  organ  in  the  church  now  ?  It  is  not  condemned 
in  the  Word  of  God,  neither  positively  nor  impliedly. 

''I  have  not  formed  my  convictions  hastily.  I  have 
considered  the  whole  question  as  far  as  I  was  capable. 
I  have  seen  its  workings,  and  conclude  that,  since 
it  is  not  forbidden  in  the  Word  of  God,  and  does  not 
necessarily  produce  formality  in  the  church,  it  may 
be  used  in  the  public  congregation,  not  only  without 
any  disadvantage,  but  beneficially.  If  any  one  can 
give  a  better  reason  drawn  from  the  Word  of  God,  I 
must  yield  to  him. 

"When  Christ  came  into  this  world,  he  found  many 
grievous  errors  in  the  church,  which  he  rebuked  and 
denounced  in  unmistakable  terms.  E"ow,  if  the  in- 
struments in  the  temple  where  God  had  commanded 
them  to  be  used  (II.  Chr.  29 :  25-34)  were  the  en- 
signs of  Baal,  and  so  much  in  opposition  to  the  true 
worship  of  God,  it  is  certainly  very  strange  that 
Christ  would  have  passed  it  by  in  complete  silence. 
With  these  facts  before  us,  it  would  hardly  be  safe 
to  lean  one's  whole  weight  upon  mere  human  opinion. 
I  insist  upon  it  that  the  Word  of  God  be  the  stand- 
ard." 

Later,  when  some  fear  prevailed  lest  the  regulation 
of  Conference  and  the  opinions  of  the  other  bishops 


134  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

might  not  be  obeyed,  he  returns  to  the  subject,  and 
shows  his  usual  confidence  and  faith  in  the  people: 
'The  question  of  human  depravity  was  never  fairly 
settled  until  it  was  thoroughly  investigated ;  then 
it  was  settled,  and  the  subject  was  quiet.  I  anticipate 
no  difficulty  in  this  Church  from  the  mere  investiga- 
tion of  any  subject.  I  think  we  are  too  well  estab- 
lished to  be  so  easily  shaken  to  pieces.  Similar  in- 
vestigations have  been  carried  on  in  other  churches, 
and  closed  up  quietly  and  pleasantly,  as  I  presume 
this  will,  no  one  hurt,  and  the  people  satisfied.  If 
there  are  innovations  in  music  or  in  any  other  direc- 
tions, we  have  laws  and  rules  fully  equal  to  meet  the 
case,  and  they  should  be  applied  in  one  case  as  well  as 
in  another.  There  is  but  one  case  in  the  Church,  so 
far  as  I  know,  [this  was  probably  at  Westerville,] 
where  an  organ  is  used  in  the  congregation,  and  that 
was  introduced  before  we  had  any  law  on  the  question 
at  all.  I  presume,  too,  that  before  this  article  is  read 
that  will  be  discontinued,  (by  order  of  board  of  trus- 
tees,) so  that  we  shall  stand  without  an  innovation 
in  the  Church  on  that  question,  which  cannot  be  said 
in  relation  to  some  other  questions  of  equal  impor- 
tance." 

In  1862,  Bishop  Weaver  had  published  a  fifty- 
page  pamphlet,  entitled  "A  Lecture  on  Secret  Socie- 
ties." The  General  Conference  of  1865  endorsed 
this  pamphlet,  and  commended  it  to  the  people.  Lit- 
tle did  he  know  how,  in  after  years,  this  written  rec- 
ord would  be  used  to  annoy  him.  Perhaps  he  would 
not  have  cared  had  he  known  then.     An  honest  man 


becomes  a  bishop  135 

will  live  up  to  the  light  which  he  has  at  the  particular 
moment.  He  will  keep  his  eyes  and  ears  open  to  get 
all  the  truth  that  may  come  to  him.  No  man  sees 
all  sides  of  a  truth  at  any  one  time.  When  the  in- 
creased light  comes,  he  must  change  his  convictions 
to  meet  it.  It  is  no  credit  to  a  man  to  say  that  he 
holds  himself  to  the  same  views  of  truth  that  he  had 
thirty  years  ago.  So  it  was  nothing  to  Bishop  Weav- 
er's discredit  in  later  life  to  say  that,  while  he  had 
not  changed  his  views  as  to  the  wrongfulness  of 
secret  societies,  meaning  thereby,  in  the  main,  free- 
masonry and  the  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  he  had 
changed  his  views  as  to  the  best  manner  in  which  the 
Church  should  deal  with  them. 

His  aim  in  this  pamphlet  was,  in  part,  to  answer 
the  question,  "Why  does  the  Church  of  the  United 
Brethren  in  Christ  oppose  secret  societies  ?"  He  in- 
troduces the  matter  by  saying:  "Freemasonry  and 
Odd  Fellowship  are  either  right  or  wrong.  There 
is  no  middle  ground.  If  they  be  right,  then  they 
must  be  made  to  harmonize  with  the  gospel  of  Christ. 
Mark  this  closely.  We  cannot  determine  as  to  the 
right  or  wrong  of  anything  by  our  own  simple  no- 
tions. We  must  come  to  the  gospel  of  Jesus,  and 
whatever  does  not  find  a  divine  sanction  there  is  nec- 
essarily wrong.  Jesus  says,  'He  that  is  not  with  me 
is  against  me.'  Anything  and  everything  that  is  in- 
compatible with  the  doctrine  and  spirit  of  Jesus  is 
sinful.  The  Bible  must  be  the  standard  of  proof  and 
appeal,  and  whatever  I  may  say  that  is  contrary  to 
the  teaching  of  that  book  I  hope  you  will  reject.     I 


136  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

will  now  enter  upon  a  course  of  argument,  setting 
forth,  in  as  clear  a  light  as  possible,  some  of  our 
objections  to  secret  organizations : 

"(1)  We  object  to  them  because  they  render  them- 
selves justly  liable  to  the  suspicion  of  the  good  and 
virtuous.  (2)  Because  there  is  in  the  pledge  given 
an  abuse  of  the  ordinance  of  an  oath.  (3)  Because 
connection  with  them  violates  the  rights  of  con- 
science. (4)  Because  their  religion,  in  the  main,  is 
a  Christless  religion.  (5)  We  object  to  them  because 
of  the  assumption  by  their  members  of  high-sounding 
names,  (6)  We  object  because  they  falsify  their  own 
pretensions.  (7)  We  object  to  these  societies  because 
they  form  an  alliance  positively  forbidden  in  God's 
Word.  (8)  We  object  to  these  societies  because  their 
claims  are  preferred  before  the  claims  of  the  Bible 
and  the  church."  After  having  sought  to  sustain 
these  few  objections  by  quotations  from  their  own 
public  statements,  from  history,  from  observation, 
and  experience,  he  closes  the  address  by  asking  and 
briefly  answering  the  questions:  "Will  the  Church 
maintain  her  position  ?"'  "Had  she  not  better  take 
down  her  banner  ?"  "Can  she  hold  out  ?"  "Will  not 
secret  societies  ultimately  swallow  her  up  ?" 

[No  honest  man  can  read  the  pamphlet  to-day,  forty 
years  after  it  was  published,  without  coming  to  the 
conclusion  that  it  was  a  thoughtful,  honest,  sincere 
presentation  of  what  was,  to  the  author,  a  vital  ques- 
tion, and  without  a  recognition  of  the  author's  candor 
and  high  mental  ability. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Becomes  a  Bishop — Continued. 

In  the  fall  of  1867,  Bishop  Weaver  writes  to  the 
ministers  of  the  East  Mississippi  District,  compris- 
ing the  following  conferences :  White  River,  Indiana, 
Lower  Wabash,  Upper  Wabash,  Illinois,  Central  Illi- 
nois, St.  Joseph,  and  North  Michigan,  the  following 
letter:  "During  your  late  conference  gatherings,  I 
asked  leave  of  absence,  that  I  might  be  freed  from 
attendance  upon  them,  and  this  request  you  kindly 
granted.  Otterbein  University  is  the  oldest  school 
of  the  Church,  and  needs  help  now,  and  must  have  it. 
The  friends  of  the  college  insisted  upon  my  helping 
them  in  this  struggle.  They  perhaps  have  more  con- 
fidence in  me  than  I  have  in  myself.  If  God  will 
help  me,  I  shall  succeed.  I  think  it  is  just  to  you  to 
say  that  you  released  me  because  you  are  friends  to 
the  cause  of  education,  and  desire  to  see  it  succeed 
elsewhere  as  well  as  in  your  o^vn  conferences.  This 
is  as  it  ought  to  be,  and  you  have  shown  a  magna- 
nimity that  is  worthy  of  imitation.  And  now,  while 
for  a  few  months  I  turn  aside  to  labor  for  this  col- 
lege, I  shall  hope  to  hear  from  you,  and  especially 
in  our  revival  columns.  .  .  .  The  Church  can- 
not do  without  colleges.  We  must  educate  for  Christ 
and  his  cause." 

137 


138  Hiography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

The  authorities  of  Otterbein  University  had  taken 
steps  to  raise  $60,000  to  endow  six  professorships. 
The  cooperative  conferences  had  been  divided  into 
six  districts,  and  each  district  was  asked  to  endow 
a  chair.  Bishop  Weaver  was  still  residing  at  Wester- 
ville;  was  a  member  of  its  executive  committee  and 
board  of  trustees;  had,  for  eight  years,  been  its 
agent  in  some  form  or  other.  Dr.  L.  Davis  had  been 
soliciting  for  some  time  for  the  endowment,  and  de- 
sired to  have  some  help.  He  asked  that  Bishop 
Weaver  might  be  appointed,  and  it  was  so  voted.  He 
was  voted  a  salary  of  twelve  hundred  dollars,  and 
what  the  conferences  did  not  pay  the  college  would 
assume.  He  was  asked  to  commence  soon  after  the 
close  of  his  fall  conferences. 

He  began  his  work  in  Sandusky  Conference.  Con- 
cerning it,  he  makes  this  published  statement :  "To 
say  that  I  like  the  business  is  not  correct.  Eight 
years  of  experience  in  this  work  has  taught  me  that 
it  is  a  hard  business.  But  then  it  must  be  done,  and, 
rather  than  lose  our  oldest  school,  I  am  willing  to 
unite  with  others  and  help  to  bear  the  burden.  We 
must  do  something  to  save  our  young  people  to  the 
Church.  If  the  ministers  will  take  hold  in  earnest, 
and  help  us,  the  work  will  soon  be  done.  What  is  the 
use  of  men  passing  resolutions  in  conference  to  do 
all  they  can,  and  then  do  nothing  at  all,  either  in 
word  or  deed  ?  The  sun  will  rise  and  set,  and  the 
world  wag  on  after  they  are  out  of  the  way. 

"Why  not  make  the  Sandusky  Conference  the  ban- 
ner conference  in  the  good  work  of  endowing  Otter- 


£ecomes  a  JBishop,  Continued  139 

beiu  University?  I  understand  that  President  Davis 
proposes  to  make  Scioto  Conference  the  banner  con- 
ference. He  sustains  some  sort  of  relation  to  that 
conference,  perhaps  he  considers  himself  a  full  mem- 
ber ;  at  least,  I  think  he  has  passed  the  course  of  read- 
ing. It  would  be  much  like  him  to  want  to  be  identi- 
fied with  the  banner  conference.  But  Sandusky  has 
the  numbers  and  the  wealth  to  be  the  banner  confer- 
ence, and  if  its  ministers  will  unite  heartily  with 
Brother  Barlow  and  myself,  it  can  be  done." 

The  work  was  being  done  in  the  fall  and  early 
winter.  It,  perhaps,  did  not  go  as  enthusiastically 
as  it  might  have  gone,  so  he  writes :  "This,  in  many 
respects,  is  a  cold  and  cheerless  world,  and  at  this 
time  it  is  literally  so ;  but  there  is  no  use  in  complain- 
ing ;  that  will  make  it  no  better.  We  must  take  the 
world  as  it  is  and  not  as  it  ought  to  be.  That  man 
has  the  true  idea  of  life  who  takes  hold  and  labors  to 
make  the  world  better.  There  is  a  demand  now  for 
bold  and  earnest-hearted  men — men  of  God,  men  of 
large  views.  The  conflict  is  upon  us,  not  the  conflict 
of  ages,  but  of  this  age,  and  we  must  stand  for  the 
right.  Sink  or  swim,  live  or  die,  we  must  stand  for 
the  right,  though  the  heavens  fall.  God  is  on  the  side 
of  right,  and  it  must,  and  will  prevail.  We  mus/; 
meet  the  foe  manfully,  courageously,  and  God  will 
help  all  that  are  in  the  right." 

He  gives  a  general  summing  up  for  the  East  Mis- 
sissippi District  for  the  year  1867,  saying,  "The  year, 
in  many  respects,  has  been  very  pleasant,  made  so 
by  the  presence  of  God."     The  year  had  been  at- 


1-iO  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

tended  with  considerable  prosperity.  In  nearly  every 
department  there  had  been  an  encouraging  increase. 
The  membership  had  increased  about  four  thousand 
above  all  losses.  The  money  received  on  the  district 
had  exceeded  that  of  the  previous  year  by  $20,000. 
During  the  year,  thirty-one  new  churches  had  been 
completed.  Sunday  schools  had  increased  about  one 
hundred  in  number,  and  six  thousand  pupils  added. 
The  conference  sessions,  with  one  or  two  exceptions, 
had  been  pleasant. 

Concerning  the  missionary  outlook,  he  says:  "It 
is  not  what  it  ought  to  be.  The  money  raised  ex- 
ceeded that  of  last  year  by  $1,488.  It  might  have 
been  increased  four  times  that  amount.  The  more 
we  do  for  the  spread  of  the  gospel,  the  more  our 
Father  in  heaven  will  do  for  us.  There  are  some 
ministers  who  should  improve  or  quit  the  field.  Year 
after  year  their  reports  are  imperfect.  How  a  min- 
ister with  the  love  of  God  in  his  soul  can  afford  to 
neglect  a  work  of  such  vast  importance  as  the  mis- 
sionary work,  I  cannot  tell.'' 

He  names  four  institutions  of  education  in  this  dis- 
trict, and  the  fact  that  several  thousand  dollars  "had 
been  collected  during  the  year  for  their  benefit. 
"These  schools  are  doing  a  good  work  for  the  Church, 
and  every  minister  and  member  in  the  several  cooper- 
ating conferences."  He  writes  again :  "I  have  just 
finished  reading  a  number  of  the  Telescope,  and, 
whether  it  is  in  me  or  in  the  paper  or  in  both,  I  can- 
not tell,  but  one  thing  is  certain,  it  seems  to  me  to 
be  one  of  the  best  numbers.     Just  look  at  the  long 


Becomes  a  Hishop,  Continued  141 

list  of  revival  notices.  Scores  of  immortal  souls  have 
been  born  to  Christ  [within  a  few  weeks.  This  is 
good  news,  like  cold  water  to  a  thirsty  soul,  an  oasis 
in  the  desert.  This  is  the  hope  of  the  Church.  We 
must  increase  by  adding  to  our  number  converted 
men  and  women.  We  might  increase  more  rapidly, 
numerically,  if  we  would  open  the  doors  a  little  wider 
and  take  in  numbers  without  regard  to  the  internal 
work  of  grace,  but  this  would  weaken  rather  than 
strengthen  our  ranks.  We  must  insist  upon  regenera- 
tion, the  new  birth,  and  holiness  of  heart.  Look,  too, 
at  the  number  of  churches  being  dedicated.  God  is 
with  us,  and  will  remain  with  us  if  we  continue  to 
be  humble.  We  must  stick  to  the  old  paths,  the  old- 
fashioned  religion,  the  fullness  of  the  gospel  of  Jesus. 
This  will  stand  when  we  shall  have  heard  the  wail 
of  expiring  time." 

He  then  proceeds  to  show  how  cheap  the  Telescope 
is;  that  it  is  getting  better  and  better.  He  is  sur- 
prised that  there  are  some  preachers  of  the  Church 
who  do  not  take  it.  "Woe  to  the  circuit  that  has 
such  a  preacher!  We  cannot  tell  much  about  his 
church ;  and  then  it  seems  it  would  be  awkward  busi- 
ness for  him  to  solicit  subscribers.  We  should  be 
liberal,  of  course,  but  if  we  do  not  sustain  our  own 
paper,  who  will  do  it  for  us  ?" 

On  March  1,  1868,  he  left  home  (probably  Koa- 
noke,  Indiana)  and  started  for  the  Missouri  and  Kan- 
sas conferences.  He  left  under  some  depression  of 
spirits,  owing  to  afflictions  in  his  family.  He  says: 
"If  all  is  well,  I  can  leave  home  cheerfully  and  go 


142  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

anywhere  that  duty  calls  me.  Perhaps  if  I  had  more 
faith  and  could  trust  more  implicitly  in  God,  it  would 
be  less  difficult  to  leave  under  any  circumstances.  I 
remember  that  David  said,  'They  that  trust  in  the 
Lord  shall  be  as  mount  Zion  which  cannot  be  re- 
moved.' " 

He  had  prepared  himself  for  a  rough  time  getting 
there,  but  did  not  so  find  it.  The  place  for  holding 
the  conference  was  some  forty  miles  from  the  near- 
est railroad,  and  the  roads  across  the  prairie  at  that 
time  unusually  bad.  He  had  prepared  his  mind  for 
wading  deep  mud  and  crossing  miserable  sloughs,  but 
was  very  happily  disappointed.  Unexpectedly  to 
himself,  the  roads  were  fine,  the  weather  was  cool,  and 
most  of  the  ministers  on  hand.  The  session  was  a 
pleasant  one.  Because  of  their  small  salaries,  the 
year  had  been  a  very  trying  one  to  some  of  them,  yet, 
with  all  their  sacrifices,  they  were  cheerful  and 
happy.  They  had  a  good  degree  of  prosperity  during 
the  year.  A  number  of  very  promising  men  were  re- 
ceived into  the  conference. 

During  the  session  of  the  conference,  he  was  called 
upon  by  a  prominent  minister  of  another  church,  who 
said  he  would  like  to  unite  with  the  United  Brethren 
Church,  but  he  could  not  on  account  of  our  rule  on 
secrecy.  "He  said  that  if  that  were  out  of  the  way, 
we  could,  and  would  increase  tenfold  more  rapidly, 
and  he  asked  whether  I  thought  it  would  be  taken 
out  of  the  way.  I  told  him  I  did  not  pretend  to 
know  much  about  the  future  history  of  the  Church, 
but,  judging  from  her  past  history,  it  did  not  seem 


becomes  a  Bishop,  Continued  143 

very  probable  that  the  rule  would  be  rescinded.  If 
he  wished  to  labor  with  us,  he  had  better  break  off 
from  those  orders  at  once,  for  I  did  not  think  he 
would  live  long  enough  to  see  the  rule  materially- 
changed.  Moreover,  we  had  often  been  reminded  that 
if  we  would  change  our  tactics  we  would  grow  very 
rapidly,  but  I  was  not  sure  of  that.  The  real  growth 
of  a  church  was  not  always  to  be  tested  by  the  in- 
crease of  her  numbers.  The  prophet  Isaiah  speaks  of 
increasing  the  number  but  not  the  strength.  Again, 
it  seemed  to  me  that  the  world  had  need  of  just  such 
a  church  as  ours.  There  were  plenty  of  churches  that 
would  take  in  members  of  secret  societies.  If  we 
should  give  it  up,  God  would  have  to  raise  up  another 
church,  because  there  were  thousands  of  good  men 
and  women  who  would  not  unite  with  a  church  that 
would  receive  members  of  secret  societies  into  its 
communion ;  and  as  we  had  started  out  on  that  plat- 
form, and  had  met  with  reasonable  success,  I  thought 
we  would  fight  it  out  on  that  line.  One  thing  I  knew 
beyond  peradventure,  which  gave  me  consolation,  and 
that  was  that  God  was  with  us,  and  had  been  with  us 
all  the  time ;  and  if  we  could  not  take  the  world,  we 
were  determined,  by  the  help  of  God,  that  the  world 
should  not  take  us." 

From  Missouri,  he  went  to  Kansas  Conference,  in 
company  with  Professor  Shuck,  of  Lane  University, 
whom  he  characterized  as  a  most  agreeable  traveling 
companion.  "He  is  a  practical  nonresistant,  except 
when  he  attacks  sin,  and  then  he  is  for  war  to  the 
hilt.     In  the  pulpit  he  is  plain,  earnest,  and  elo- 


144  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

quent."  They  reached  the  place  of  meeting  in  due 
time.  The  session  was  a  very  pleasant  one,  not  a  jar, 
nor  an  unkind  feeling  was  manifested  at  any  time 
during  the  session.  "The  ministers  are  devoted  to 
the  great  work  of  winning  souls  to  Christ.  Intellec- 
tually, they  will  compare  favorably  with  those  of  any 
conference  in  the  Church." 

This  was  a  pleasant  conference,  and  he  came  away 
much  encouraged  with  the  hopeful  outlook.  There 
seemed  to  him,  at  that  time,  a  bright  future  for  our 
Church  in  Kansas.  "The  country  is  fine,  climate, 
soil,  etc.,  not  surpassed  anywhere.  The  Church  has 
an  excellent  start,  with  a  college  in  her  midst,  and 
an  earnest,  intellectual  ministry.  There  is  nothing 
to  prevent  her  from  gro\ving  very  rapidly.  Add  to 
this  the  fact  that  a  constant  tide  of  immigration  is 
flowing  into  this  State,  and  among  the  immigrants 
there  is  a  fair  proportion  of  well-tried  members  of 
the  Church  from  the  eastern  States.  All  these  things 
unite  in  saying  there  is  a  bright  future  for  the  Church 
in  Kansas.  Although  the  early  history  of  this  State 
was  written  in  blood,  those  days  are  ever  past;  and 
now  the  sun  shines  brightly  and  the  birds  sing  sweetly 
over  a  pure  and  enterprising  people." 

At  this  session  of  the  Kansas  Conference,  the  fol- 
lowing resolution  was  passed :  "Resolved,  That  in 
the  person  of  Bishop  Weaver  we  have  found  that  com- 
bination of  suavity,  mildness,  and  firmness  that  con- 
stitutes the  efficient  superintendent ;  and  for  the  cour- 
teous manner  in  which  he  has  presided  during  this 
session  of  conference  we  hereby  express  our  hearty 


becomes  a  Bishop,  Continued  145 

appreciation,  and  for  his  visit  and  services,  and  our 
ardent  desires  that  he  may  some  time  in  the  future 
seek  a  home  in  our  midst." 

A  national  temperance  convention  was  arranged 
for  Cleveland,  Ohio,  to  begin  July  29,  1868.  All 
synods,  conferences,  etc.,  were  entitled  to  send  dele- 
gates. In  case  the  organization  could  not  meet  and 
appoint,  the  presiding  officer  was  to  do  this.  Bishop 
Weaver  appointed  seven  delegates  from  each  of  the 
conferences  in  his  district,  namely,  White  River,  In- 
diana, Lower  Wabash,  Upper  Wabash,  Central  Illi- 
nois, Illinois,  St.  Joseph,  and  !N'orth  Michigan.  If 
any  could  not  go,  the  others  were  to  fill  vacancies. 
Having  done  this,  he  then  said  to  them :  "Brethren, 
we  ought  to  go.  We  are  a  temperance  church;  our 
record  has  been  a  noble  one  for  many  years.  Al- 
though we  have  not  given  our  assent  to  the  manner 
in  which  certain  organizations  have  undertaken  to 
manage  this  great  reform,  yet  we  are  for  temperance, 
first,  last,  and  forever.  Let  us  go.  This  is  our  chosen 
method  of  attack,  and  the  history  of  the  past  demon- 
strates that  it  is  the  only  way  for  carrying  on  a  re- 
form successfully.  When  it  is  settled  who  will  go, 
let  the  chairman  of  each  delegation  inform  me,  and 
I  will  send  him  the  required  credentials." 

The  Board  of  Missions  met  in  Westfield,  Illinois, 
May  21,  1868.  A  part  of  the  time  Bishop  Weaver 
presided,  and  at  other  times  took  part  in  its  proceed- 
ings. I^ear  the  close  of  the  meeting,  a  resolution  was 
introduced  pledging  them  to  give  the  world  a  "pure 
gospel  unadulterated  by  secret  societies."    Each  mem- 


146  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

ber  of  the  Board  was  asked  to  make  a  statement. 
Weaver  said  he  had  no  sympathy  with  secret  socie- 
ties. He  could  not  be  a  member  of  an  order  and  be 
a  Christian.  He  would  not,  for  any  consideration, 
if  it  were  left  to  him,  wipe  that  law  from  our  book 
of  Discipline.  He  had  said  to  persons  who  had  in- 
quired of  him  whether  our  law  would  be  expunged, 
that  they  would  not  live  long  enough  to  see  the  day. 
He  felt  that  we  should  now  be  encouraged  to  retain 
our  position,  for  others  were  coming  to  our  help.  We 
had  once  fought  this  battle  almost  alone,  as  we  had 
once  stood  almost  alone  among  the  churches  in  op- 
posing slavery.  Circumstances  were  now  changing; 
a  strong  current  was  setting  in  the  direction  of  our 
position.  Many  friends  are  now  rallying  to  our  aid. 
It  had  been  asserted  again  and  again  that  a  num- 
ber of  our  ministers  and  members  were  connected 
with  secret  societies.  The  bishop  did  not  attempt  to 
show  whether  it  was  true  or  not  true,  but  gave  his 
opinion  as  to  the  conduct  of  men  who  belonged  to  an 
antisecrecy  church,  and  yet,  in  violation  of  their 
vows,  would  join  a  secret  organization.  "If  it  be 
said  that  there  is  nothing  wrong  in  these  orders,  that 
by  no  means  justifies  a  man  in  violating  the  law  of 
his  church,  and  deceiving  his  brethren.  There  is  an- 
other and  a  better  way  for  members  of  this  Church. 
If  a  man  feels  that  it  is  his  duty  for  Christ's  sake 
to  unite  with  a  secret  order,  let  him,  like  an  honor- 
able Christian  gentleman,  leave  the  Church,  and  then 
go.  To  join  a  secret  society  in  this  clandestine  man- 
ner is  anything  but  honorable.     If  he  leaves  the 


Becomes  a  Bishop,  Continued  147 

Church  first,  he  will  be  more  respected  by  those  he 
left  behind ;  and  if  there  is  a  single  particle  of  honor 
among  the  members  of  the  order  he  joins,  they  will 
think  so,  too.  I  know  of  no  organizations  or  associa- 
tions of  men,  whether  political  or  ecclesiastical,  that 
tolerates  deception,  except  secret  societies.  The 
Bible,  morality,  and  everything  pure  and  honorable 
is  in  eternal  opposition  to  the  spirit  of  deception,  and 
just  such  deception  as  that  man  is  guilty  of  who  will, 
in  a  clandestine  manner,  join  a  secret  order  contrary 
to  the  law  of  the  Church.  If  I  believed  that  these 
orders  were  as  pure  as  the  angels  of  light,  (but  I  do 
not,)  I  could  not  be  induced  to  join  them  until  after 
1  had  left  the  Church"  {Telescope,  June  17,  1868). 

A  committee  had  been  appointed  to  secure  a  par- 
sonage for  the  bishop  of  the  East  Mississippi  Dis- 
trict. The  members  who  could  do  so  met  in  West- 
field,  Illinois,  May  22,  1868,  and  J.  Weaver  was 
made  chairman.  It  was  voted  that  a  neat  and  com- 
modious house  should  be  built,  the  whole  to  cost  not 
less  than  $3,000,  nor  more  than  $4,000.  Proposi- 
tions had  come  from  Hartsville,  Indiana,  Westfield, 
Illinois,  and  Lexington,  Illinois.  These  were  all  con- 
sidered, and  it  was  finally  agreed  to  locate  at  Lexing- 
ton, Illinois,  the  people  of  that  section  having  agreed 
to  raise  $3,000  themselves,  so  there  would  be  only 
$1,000  to  raise  in  the  conferences.  J.  Weaver  and 
H.  Hilbish  were  made  a  committee  to  secure  the  bal- 
ance of  the  money  needed. 

Bishop  Weaver  always  traveled  with  his  eyes  open 
to  see  what  was  interesting  about  him,  and  then  he 


148  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

had  a  peculiar  skill  in  describing  what  he  saw.  He 
takes  his  readers  into  such  familiar  relationship  with 
himself  that  they  can  almost  see  with  his  eyes.  Ho 
went  out  to  dedicate  a  church  in  Council  Bluffs,  Iowa, 
June  28,  1868.  There  was  a  very  small  society 
there,  numbering  about  twelve  members,  but  they 
were  earnest,  working  Christians.  By  hard  work 
they  had  succeeded  in  building  a  house  at  a  cost  of 
about  $1,400,  one-half  of  which  was  yet  to  be  pro- 
vided ;  this  the  bishop  secured,  but  not  without  great 
effort. 

Even  then  he  saw  what  we  are  enjoying  to-day. 
He  writes:  "What  a  pity  it  is  that  we  have  no 
church  extension  fund.  There  is  nothing  so  much 
in  the  way  of  our  success  in  the  West  as  the  want 
of  meeting-houses.  Our  members  are  scattered  all 
over  this  new  country  in  small  groups.  Many  of 
them  are  poor,  just  commencing,  and  are  not  able  to 
build  houses.  The  consequence  is,  that  many  of  them 
unite  with  other  churches.  We  will  never  be  able 
to  hold  our  position  in  any  country  unless  we  devise 
ways  and  means  to  build  houses  of  worship.  Some 
of  our  own  more  wealthy  members  in  the  Eastern  and 
Middle  States  ought  to  start  the  ball  rolling." 

He  sends  an  apologetic  note  to  the  editor  (Dr. 
Berger)  for  his  attempting  to  write  anything  more 
about  the  West,  for  the  subject  is  about  exhausted. 
''But  how  can  a  man  help  it  when  the  inspiration 
comes  upon  him  ?  Here  I  am,  not  far  from  the  mid- 
dle of  the  State  of  Iowa.  The  day  is  beautiful,  and 
we  are  jogging  along  click,  click,  click,  at  the  rate 


Becomes  a  Bishop,  Continued  149 

of  about  twenty  miles  an  hour.  What  magnificent 
scenery,  what  fields — cornfields — stretching  along  on 
either  side!  There  are  the  prairie  and  the  prairie 
flowers.  I  tell  you,  Mr.  Editor,  if  you  were  here  you 
would  want  to  forget  that  little  room  in  the  third 
story  of  that  elegant  building  on  the  comer  of  Fourth 
and  Main,  or  if  you  would  think  of  it,  it  would  bring 
a  pang  with  it  I  don't  mean  a  bit  of  harm  by  this 
reference  to  your  office,  with  your  big  basket  chuck 
full  of  refused  manuscript.  I  mean  it  is  cooler  here 
than  there,  and  I  wish  you  were  here." 

In  the  midst  of  his  description  of  scenery  and  road 
and  courteous  conductors  and  all,  he  exclaims :  "How 
liable  we  all  are  to  be  mistaken !  The  last  penciling 
was  at  Lisbon,  and  how  the  stop  there  brought  back 
the  associations  of  three  years  ago!  ISTow  we  have 
reached  Marshall.  From  the  length  of  time  that  has 
elapsed,  I  supposed  we  were  getting  well  on  to  Coun- 
cil Bluffs,  but,  bless  my  life !  the  figures  in  the  depot 
tell  me  it  is  yet  two  hundred  miles.  My  inspiration 
is  pretty  much  gone,  and  I  shall  lay  myself  down  in 
dust  and  dirt,  and  learn  to  be  content.  Lay  me 
down  ?  !N"o,  I  won't,  for  just  now  a  tremendously 
large  man  comes  in  and  claims  a  part  of  my  seat.  I 
wonder  why  he  did  not  wait  for  the  next  train  or 
charter  a  car  especially  for  himself.  It  is  really  ter- 
rible to  have  such  a  large  man  in  the  seat  with  you 
when  the  weather  is  so  hot.  Then,  from  his  appear- 
ance and  language,  I  am  pretty  sure  he  has  been 
drinking  lager  beer,  and  will  be  asleep  in  ten  min- 
utes." 


150  BiograpJiy  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

As  he  reaches  the  place  of  his  destination,  he  is 
pleased  with  the  outlook:  "Council  Bluffs  at  last! 
This  is  rather  a  fine  town,  but  you  cannot  see  much 
of  it  from  any  one  place.  It  is  here  and  there  and 
yonder.  It  has  a  population  of  about  ten  thousand. 
The  city  is  back  from  the  Missouri  River  about  two 
and  one-half  miles.  The  houses,  for  the  most  part, 
are  built  at  the  base  of  the  bluffs.  Behind  the  bluffs 
and  the  river  there  is  a  beautiful  plain,  extending 
up  and  down  the  river  for  many  miles.  This,  in  con- 
trast with  the  steep  bluffs,  presents  to  the  eye  a  most 
beautiful  picture.  Across  the  river,  and  in  full  view 
of  this  city,  is  the  famous  city  of  Omaha.  On  the 
plain  between  the  cities  the  great  depot  of  the  Pacific 
Eailroad  is  to  be  built.  All  in  all,  there  is  a  very 
flattering  prospect  for  this  city.  The  natural  advan- 
tages are  not  to  be  surpassed  anywhere.  Soil,  water, 
climate  are  all  good ;  the  growing  crops  (except  where 
the  grasshoppers  have  destroyed)  are  very  fine.  If 
anybody  would  offer  me  a  good-sized  farm  here  and 
money  to  move  to  it  and  stock  it,  I  would  be  under 
great  obligations  to  him." 

At  the  National  Temperance  Convention,  held  in 
Cleveland,  Ohio,  in  1868,  to  which  reference  has  been 
made  elsewhere,  about  fifty  delegates  were  present 
from  the  United  Brethren  Church,  Permission  was 
secured  for  J.  Weaver  to  speak  five  minutes,  in  order 
to  give  the  position  of  the  United  Brethren  Church. 
He  thanked  them  courteously  for  the  opportunity, 
and  then  said :  "We  are  not  well  understood  in  this 
great  temperance  movement.    We  are  a  quiet  people ; 


Becomes  a  Bishop,  Continued  151 

we  are  a  temperance  church.  Fifty-two  years  ago, 
we  were  organized  into  a  temperance  society.  The 
subject  is  called  up  at  all  of  our  annual  conferences. 
We  have  a  stringent  law  on  the  subject  which  I  will 
read  to  you  from  our  book  of  Discipline  [he  opened 
the  book  and  read] .  The  reason  we  are  not  well  un- 
derstood is  that  we  are  opposed  to  secret  organiza- 
tions, and  because  of  this,  it  is  supposed  we  are  op- 
posed to  temperance,  but  this  is  not  true;  we  hold 
ourselves  ready  at  all  times  to  cooperate  with  the 
friends  of  temperance  in  an  upward  movement.  We 
are  opposed  to  secret  temperance  societies  because  we 
believe  there  is  a  better  and  more  successful  way  of 
meeting  and  overcoming  this  giant  monster.  We  be- 
lieve in  an  open,  earnest,  persevering  effort  against 
the  sin  of  intemperance,  and,  Mr.  President,  the  cor- 
rectness of  our  position  has  been  conceded  more  than 
twenty  times  during  this  convention." 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Second  Term  as  Bishop — 1869-18T3. 

First  Trip  to  the  Coast. 

The  fifteenth  General  Conference  met  at  Leba- 
non, Pennsylvania,  May  20,  1869.  Thirty-eight  an- 
nual conferences  were  entitled  to  representation. 
The  questions  that  came  up  for  settlement  made  thia 
conference  more  exciting  than  any  one  that  had  pre- 
ceded it.  Among  these  was  the  secrecy  question, 
which  later  rent  the  Church.  There  was  a  large  com- 
mittee appointed  to  make  report  on  this  subject,  of 
which  Dr.  L.  Davis  was  chairman.  Two  reports  were 
submitted.  The  majority  report  defined  a  secret  so- 
ciety and  asserted  that  all  such  are  evil  in  their  tend- 
ency. Those  of  our  people  connected  therewith 
must  sever  their  connection.  Six  months'  time  was 
allowed  in  which  to  comply  with  the  admonition 
given,  and  if  the  offending  member  refused  to  comply, 
his  name  should  be  erased.  The  minority  report  as- 
serted that  such  societies  are  objectionable,  liable  tO' 
be  used  for  evil  ends,  unnecessary,  and  our  people, 
both  ministers  and  members,  are  advised  "to  abstain 
from  all  connection  with  them."  This  debate  con- 
tinued during  two  days  and  a  half,  and  showed  that, 
while  there  was  not  much  difference  of  opinion  as 
to  the  nature  of  these  organizations,  there  was  a  dif- 


Rev.  Jonathan  Weaver.— About  iste. 


Seco?id  Term  as  bishop  153 

ference  as  to  how  they  should  be  dealt  with.  There 
was  a  steadily-growing  minority  which  believed  that 
there  was  such  a  difference  in  these  societies  that  the 
Church  should  not  make  a  law  excluding  all.  After 
a  long  and  thorough  and  earnest  discussion,  the  ma- 
jority report  making  the  law  prohibitive  was  passed 
by  a  vote  of  72  yeas  and  25  nays,  with  14  members 
absent.    Bishop  Weaver  voted  with  the  majority. 

The  question  of  lay  representation  in  General  Con- 
ference also  came  up,  and  was  discussed.  Bishop 
Weaver  was  then,  and  until  his  death,  an  advo- 
cate of  this  principle.  On  the  ground,  however,  that 
there  was,  at  this  time,  no  general  demand  for  it  on 
the  part  of  the  laity,  the  proposition  in  its  favor  was 
defeated.  Thirty-two  were  in  favor  and  fifty-five  to 
defer.  Bishop  Weaver  voting  with  the  majority. 

The  work  of  Bishop  Weaver,  four  years  before, 
recommending  the  schools  to  establish  biblical  chaire, 
had  borne  fruit.  Much  of  the  opposition  had 
dwindled,  and  some  at  this  session  openly  advocated 
a  theological  school.  A  board  of  education  was  ap- 
pointed, and  authorized  to  devise  a  plan  for  the 
founding  of  a  biblical  institute,  and  was  enjoined 
to  raise  funds  and  locate  said  institution.  This  ac- 
tion resulted  in  the  founding  of  Union  Biblical  Semi 
nary  at  Dayton,  Ohio,  of  which  institution  Bishop 
Weaver  was,  for  many  years  a  trustee,  and  always  a 
devoted  friend. 

It  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  note  here  as  a  matter 
of  history,  that  when  the  time  came  to  give  the  insti- 
tution a  name,  the  managers  hesitated  to  call  it  a 


154  Biography  of  Jonathan  'Weaver 

theological  seminary,  which  it  really  was  to  be,  and 
which  name  would  have  been  entirely  appropriate, 
for  to  do  so  would  arouse  and  intensify  the  prejudices 
of  many  of  the  older  ministers.  This  must  be 
avoided,  as  the  institution  is  without  funds,  and  will 
depend  for  some  time  on  the  sympathy  and  help  of 
the  people.  They  had  found  by  experience  that  even 
these  would  approve  of  almost  anything  with  the  bib- 
lical affix  to  it.  So  this  was  agreed  upon.  It  would 
be  open  to  those  of  other  churches  who  should  apply, 
as  well  as  those  of  our  own,  hence,  in  this  sense,  it 
would  be  union.  This  seemed  a  happy  suggestion, 
so  it  was  called  "Union  Biblical  Seminary."  The 
initials,  "U.  B.,"  would  answer  just  as  well,  if  they 
so  desired,  for  "United  Brethren  Seminary." 

Bishops  Glossbrenner,  Edwards,  and  Weaver  were 
reelected  as  bishops.  Weaver  receiving  seventy-seven 
votes,  the  highest  number  cast  for  any  one  person, 
Glossbrenner  seventy-four,  and  Edwards  seventy-one. 
J.  Dickson  was  elected  in  place  of  Bishop  Markwood, 
whose  health  had  failed,  receiving  forty-eight  votes, 
just  the  number  necessary  to  a  choice.  Bishop 
Weaver  was  later  stationed  on  the  East  District,  com- 
prising East  Pennsylvania,  Pennsylvania,  East  Ger- 
man, Virginia,  Allegheny,  Parkersburg,  Erie,  West- 
ern Reserve,  and  Tennessee  conferences.  He  was  not 
altogether  a  stranger  to  the  people  here,  for  he  had, 
years  before,  canvassed  a  number  of  these  conferences 
in  the  interests  of  Otterbein  University. 

At  the  close  of  the  conference,  each  bishop  made 
a  few  remarks.  Bishop  Weaver  speaking  as  follows: 


Second  Term  as  Bishop  155 

"I  cannot  divorce  from  my  own  heart  and  mind  the 
constant  feeling  that  the  position  to  which  the  Church 
has  promoted  me  is  far  heyond  and  above  my  ability. 
If  it  is  possible  to  feel  and  realize  one  defect  more 
than  another,  I  realize  this,  that  my  preparation  of 
heart  is  not  all  that  I  feel  it  ought  to  be  to  fill  such 
an  important  position  in  the  Church. 

*^In  coming  to  labor  in  this  part  of  the  Church, 
and  with  these  dear  brethren,  as  best  I  can,  to  pro- 
mote the  interests  of  the  cause  of  Jesus,  as  a  matter 
of  course,  I  do  it  with  feelings  such,  perhaps,  as  you 
could  not  realize.  I  will  be  associated  with  those 
whose  experience  is  far  beyond  my  own ;  who  have 
been  in  this  great  and  blessed  work,  perhaps,  long 
before  I  was  even  a  member  of  the  Church.  To  sit 
with  them,  counsel  with  them,  and  pray  with  them, 
is  pleasant;  but  that  I  should  be  intrusted  with  this 
additional  responsibility  to  preside  over  them,  I  feel 
this  and  realize  it,  perhaps  more  than  you  could  read 
on  the  outside. 

"As  a  matter  of  course,  I  feel  a  little  degree  of 
tenderness  in  being  severed  from  those  with  whom  I 
have  labored  so  pleasantly  and  agreeably  for  the  four 
years  that  have  passed.  I  do  not  now  call  to  remem- 
brance a  single  dark  shadow  upon  my  heart.  I  can- 
not now,  in  turning  over  the  leaves  of  memory,  find 
a  single  record  against  a  single  member  of  those  con- 
ferences over  which  I  presided. 

"I  come  to  labor  with  the  brethren  of  this  district, 
as  a  matter  of  course,  with  the  very  kindest  of  feel- 
ings.    I  would  ask  of  these  brethren  in  advance  to 


156  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

bear  with  all  my  weaknesses,  and  especially  to  pray 
for  me.  I  think  I  am  honest,  I  think  I  am  sincere, 
and  I  think  my  heart  does  not  deceive  me  when  I 
say  that  my  one  purpose  is,  as  best  I  can,  to  advance 
the  interests  of  the  cause  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
I  pray  that  God,  in  his  mercy  and  kindness,  may  give 
us  most  abundant  success." 

There  were  four  bishops'  districts  determined 
upon,  and  the  bishops,  in  their  turn,  were  to  look 
after  the  conferences  on  the  Coast.  It  fell  to  Bishop 
Weaver's  lot  to  make  the  first  visit  during  this  quad- 
rennium.  He  held  the  Erie  Conference  at  Little 
Cooley,  Pennsylvania,  August  19,  1869.  He  held  the 
Muskingum  Conference  at  Louisville,  Ohio,  August 
26.  He  started,  September  16,  on  his  episcopal  jour- 
ney to  the  Coast.  This  was  his  first  visit  to  our  West- 
ern possessions,  and,  in  some  respects,  was  a  hard 
trip  for  him.  He  was,  however,  in  good  health  and 
vigor  and  able  to  endure.  His  eyes  and  ears  were 
open  to  see  what  was  presented  to  them.  He  had 
studied  human  nature,  so  he  knew  how  to  properly 
estimate  its  value  when  he  came  in  touch  with  it. 
We  have  decided  to  give  quite  at  length  the  inter- 
esting accounts  of  this  trip  which  he  wrote  for  the 
columns  of  the  Telescope,  and  which  its  readers  at 
the  time  perused  with  pleasure. 

He  left  Roanoke  for  Fort  Wayne,  thence  for  Chi- 
cago, passing  through  Davenport,  which  he  reached 
in  the  early  morning.  He  says,  '^There  were  two 
or  three  persons  on  board  that  might  have  been  spared 
without  militating  against  the  morality  of  the  rest 


Second  Term  as  Bishop  157 

(jf  the  passengers."  On  the  way  he  sajs:  ^*I  am  a 
woman's  rights  man,  but  I  cannot  say  that  I  like 
to  see  too  much  of  it.  We  have  on  board  this  morn- 
ing, as  we  most  always  have,  a  few  of  the  loud-talking 
kind.  Mercy,  how  they  can  talk !  They  can  be  heard 
all  over  the  car,  and,  I  presume,  could  be  heard  above 
the  noise  of  a  good-sized  thunder-storm.  I  most  posi- 
tively object,  not  to  the  talking,  but  to  the  muchness 
of  it."  We  wonder  if  ever  he  had  heard  men  talk 
on  the  train  about  election  time. 

He  reaches  Omaha,  and  stops  at  the  International. 
'Tare  only  four  dollars  a  day,  and  not  a  very  good 
time  for  charging,  either.  I  have  slept  in  just  as 
good  beds  and  eaten  just  as  good  meals  many  a  time, 
and  did  not  pay  a  cent.  Omaha  is  a  bristling  little 
city,  with  here  and  there  a  first-class  gentleman. 
Train  now  moving  out  of  Omaha.  From  here  to 
Sacramento  City  only  1,777  miles ;  time,  if  on  time, 
four  days.  Pullman  palace-car  is  a  fine  institution, 
with  the  single  exception  that  the  berths  are  a  little 
too  short  for  extended  humanity.  .  .  .  Farmers 
in  Nebraska  busy;  engaged  in  making  hay;  men, 
women,  children,  mules,  are  all  at  it.  As  I  look  out 
over  these  vast  prairies,  stretching  for  many  miles 
along  each  side  of  the  road,  with  only  here  and  there 
an  inhabitant  [this  was  thirty-two  years  ago],  I  can- 
not avoid  thinking  how  much  better  it  would  be  for 
thousands  of  families  now  crowded  in  eastern  cities 
if  they  were  here  breathing  the  pure,  fresh  air,  and 
cultivating  these  rich  grounds.  If  our  lands  were 
cultivated,  and  the  strength  of  our  soil  developed  as 


158  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

in  Europe,  there  could  be  stuff  enough  raised  to  sup- 
ply the  inhabitants  of  the  whole  world.  I  feel  like 
saying,  Hurrah  for  our  country !  Free  trade,  free 
labor,  free  press,  free  church,  free  institutions,  now 
and  forever."  Reaching  Grand  Island,  153  miles 
west  of  Omaha,  he  writes  again :  "We  dined  at  this 
place ;  had  a  fashionable  dinner ;  only  cost  $1.25.  If 
hotel-keeping  was  my  forte,  I  should  certainly  come 
West  to  open  up." 

He  slept  during  the  night,  and  in  the  morning  was 
in  Wyoming,  a  little  east  of  Cheyenne.  !N^ot  a  tree 
or  a  bush  was  to  be  seen  in  any  direction.  "It  looks 
as  if  our  great-grandfathers  might  have  lived  here, 
cleared  up  the  ground,  wore  it  out,  and  then  burned 
up  their  cabins  and  left.  The  soil,  from  appear- 
ances, is  worthless.  Just  now,  as  I  looked  out  of  the 
window,  I  saw  a  drove  of  antelopes  and  more  prairie 
dogs  than  I  had  ever  dreamed  of.  The  dogs  sat  close 
to  their  burrowing-places,  and  seemed  to  enjoy  the 
sight  of  the  passing  train." 

He  passed  through  Cheyenne,  and  writes  again: 
"The  officers  on  the  train  are  very  kind  and  gentle- 
manly. The  passengers,  for  the  most  part,  conduct 
themselves  nicely.  I  have  not  heard  an  oath  since 
we  left  Omaha.  .  .  .  We  are  on  the  down-grade, 
and  moving  at  a  rapid  rate.  One  must  see  these 
mountains  and  plains  before  he  can  properly  appre- 
ciate the  scenery.  When  you  think  of  these,  how- 
ever, you  must  not  associate  with  the  scenery  trees 
covered  Vv^ith  foliage,  as  in  the  Alleghenies.  No,  they 
are  as  bare  as  the  pavements  of  your  beautiful  city. 


Second  Term  as  Bishop  159 

.  .  .  We  are  now  at  Como  Lake.  The  region 
round  about  presents  a  most  dreary  appearance.  No 
living  thing  to  be  seen,  except,  now  and  then,  a  bird 
that  must  have  lost  its  way.  The  territory  of  Wyom- 
ing is  yet  the  home  of  the  Indians,  and  is  a  land  of 
sublimity  and  grandeur.  It  is  useless  to  attempt  to 
give  a  description  of  this  wild  region.  Now  in  Utah. 
I  wish  I  could  describe  these  surroundings.  Moun- 
tains piled  on  mountains,  deep  gulches,  peaks  and 
rocks.  I  cannot  write,  for  looking  and  looking  be- 
wilders me.  Here  is  Echo  Canyon.  What  I  saw  in 
Wyoming,  and  for  the  first  fifty  miles  in  Utah,  is 
but  mild  scenery  to  what  is  seen  at  this  place.  Shall 
I  tell  you  of  the  houses  ?  Some  are  built  out  of  round 
poles,  covered  with  dirt;  some  are  entirely  con- 
structed of  muslin,  which  makes  one  think  of  camp- 
meetings  in  the  wilderness ;  the  greater  number,  how- 
ever, are  sided  with  rough  boards,  covered  witli 
common  muslin.  They  much  resemble  a  soldiers' 
encampment.  We  are  now  in  the  Mormon  country, 
and  there  are  more  signs  of  life.  The  valleys  are 
narrow,  but  tolerably  well  cultivated. 

"We  have  just  left  Promontory,  1,084  miles  from 
Omaha,  and  690  from  Sacramento.  The  town  is  no 
great  scratch  except  for  gamblers.  It  is  rough, 
rougher,  roughest.  I  passed  a  number  of  gambling 
tables  and  saw  piles  of  gold.  Many  a  green  one  loses 
his  cash  at  these  tables.  It  must  be  very  unpleasant 
for  the  traveler  to  lose  his  money ;  but  then  he  ought 
to  go  away  and  stay  away.  Here,  for  the  first  time, 
we  met  with  ^John  Chinaman.'    Here  greenbacks  are 


160  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

at  a  premium,  only  you  have  to  pay  the  premium, 
that  's  all.  Eeached  Elko,  Kevada,  September  11; 
one  of  the  largest  towns  I  have  seen  since  we  left 
Omaha.  Most  of  the  houses  are  covered  with  muslin. 
Here  you  see  those  large  teams,  ten  or  twelve  horses 
or  mules,  hitched  to  one  wagon.  The  town  is  hard. 
We  stopped  at  this  place  one  hour  and  a  half  for 
breakfast.  We  had  a  good  meal  and  plenty  of  time 
to  eat  it.  On  the  average,  while  outside  the  cars,  I 
felt  for  my  pocketbook  about  six  times  per  minute. 
I  did  it  in  a  very  sly  way,  however.  The  people  here 
love  money,  and  they  do  not  seem  to  be  a  bit  par- 
ticular as  to  how  they  get  it." 

Thus  far  he  has  not  told  of  his  fellow-passengers : 
"While  we  have  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  through 
passengers  who  took  the  train  at  Omaha,  four  of  this 
number  are  ministers.  Then  we  have  some  old  men 
and  women,  and  some  young  men  and  women.  Some 
of  this  latter  class  are  hard,  and  some  of  them  are 
soft — say  about  half  and  half.  Some  are  dressed 
very  plainly,  and  some  are  dressed  within  an  inch 
of  their  lives.  Almost  every  imaginable  fashion  is 
represented  here,  even  to  the  'Grecian  bend,'  and 
some  of  the  women  have  this  latter  very  badly.  Poor 
things !  how  they  must  suffer.  I  have  never  seen  a 
more  barren  and  uninviting  country  than  this.  ISot 
a  human  being  to  be  seen,  except  at  the  little  stations, 
and  here  and  there  a  few  'John  Chinamen,'  with 
shovels  and  picks.  We  are  now  passing  through  the 
Humboldt  Mountains.  The  dust,  being  full  of  alkali, 
is  very  disagreeable.     This  is  a  mining  region  of 


/Second  Term  as  bishop  161 

large  hopes,  extensive  prospecting,  and  small  returns 
— lizards,  jackasses,  all  this  and  no  more.  Kot  a 
spear  of  grass  is  visible.  Sage-brush,  somehow,  makes 
out  to  live,  but  how  I  cannot  tell.  Indians  gather 
round  the  train  at  every  station,  not  in  a  warlike  at- 
titude, but  as  suppliants,  willing  to  receive  anything 
from  the  passengers  that  they  may  choose  to  give — 
bread,  apples,  cakes,  tobacco,  money,  no  matter 
what.  Their  appearance  is  most  pitiable.  Many 
of  them  are  almost  in  a  state  of  nudity.  To  say  that 
they  are  filthy  is  putting  it  in  the  mildest  possible 
language. 

"At  four  o'clock  in  the  morning  (September  12), 
the  porter  called  me  up  to  see  the  Sierra  Nevada 
Mountains.  We  soon  after  entered  the  snow-shed. 
This  is  a  great  structure.  Heavy  posts  are  set  down 
on  each  side  of  the  track,  then  boarded  up  and  cov- 
ered, and  this  continues  for  forty  miles.  Here  and 
there,  while  passing  through  the  snow-shed,  we  passed 
over  trestleworks  ranging  from  fifty  to  one  hundred 
and  twenty-five  feet  high.  It  was  grand,  but  a  little 
skeerish.  Between  Omaha  and  here  we  have  changed 
climate  about  six  times.  Winter  and  summer  alter- 
nate. .  .  .  Thank  fortune,  we  are  out  of  the 
snow-shed.  We  have  just  passed  the  first  view  on 
the  road,  called  Giant's  Gap.  It  is  1,500  feet  deep, 
but  I  could  not  see  the  bottom  for  the  smoke.  Our 
train  ran  very  near  to  the  edge  of  the  precipice,  and, 
as  it  wound  around  the  mountain,  resembled  a  huge 
snake.  We  are  now  in  Sacramento,  a  town  of  25,000 
inhabitants,  and  full  of  life  and  business.     Almost 


162  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

every  nation  is  represented,  and,  from  appearance, 
the  morals  are  not  to  be  boasted  of." 

He  reaches  California  in  safety.  After  a  week  in 
which  to  look  about,  he  gives  his  opinion:  "Some 
say  it  is  the  best  country  in  the  world,  and  some  say  it 
is  the  worst.  It  is  neither.  The  climate  is  better 
than  in  most  of  the  States,  but  it  does  not  prevent 
disease.  Fever,  ague,  consumption,  may  be  found 
here  as  well  as  in  some  of  the  eastern  States.  The 
water,  for  the  most  part,  is  poor.  The  principal 
crops  are  wheat  and  barley.  It  is  the  finest  wheat 
country  I  have  ever  seen.  The  average  yield  is  from 
forty  to  sixty  bushels  per  acre ;  so  of  barley.  Po- 
tatoes grow  well,  but  are  not  so  well  flavored  as  those 
in  Michigan.  Farmers  have  no  need  to  provide 
against  the  rain  in  harvest-time.  Not  a  drop  of  rain 
falls  from  the  beginning  of  harvest  till  late  in  the  fall. 
They  need  take  no  pains  in  stacking  wheat.  When 
they  thresh  it,  they  often  leave  it  lying  in  the 
fields  in  sacks  for  weeks  before  they  haul  it  to  mar- 
ket. I  saw  on  the  banks  of  the  Sacramento  River 
thousands  of  bushels  piled  up  in  this  way,  ready  to 
be  shipped.    Bui,  oh  I  the  dust!'* 

He  gives  a  most  glowing  account  of  the  fruit,  as 
well  he  could.  Pears,  apples,  peaches,  plums,  figs, 
grapes,  lemons,  oranges,  pomegranates,  etc. :  "I  have 
seen  bunches  of  grapes  as  large  as  any  four  I  ever 
saw  before.  Pears  will  sometimes  measure  from 
twelve  to  sixteen  inches  in  circumference,  and  weigh 
two  pounds.    But,  oh!  the  dust." 

Concerning  the  people  whom  he  met,  he  describes 


Second  Term  as  Bishop  163 

them,  for  the  most  part,  as  kind  and  hospitable: 
''They  were  generally  well-behaved  at  church,  but 
hard  to  move  towards  Christ.  They  have  much  less 
to  say  about  the  gold  mines  than  the  people  in  the 
East.  They  know  more  about  them.  They  will  boast 
about  their  country.  In  some  instances,  I  think  it 
is  a  little  like  the  boy  in  the  graveyard,  whistling  to 
keep  his  courage  up." 

About  the  meeting  of  the  conference,  which  was 
a  pleasant  one,  he  writes :  "Some  of  our  older  con- 
ferences would  hardly  know  how  to  hold  a  conference 
and  camp-meeting  together,  but  that  is  the  custom 
here.  They  were  held  under  the  shadow  of  one  tree 
— a  good  old  oak.  These  trees  are  very  low,  but  the 
trunks  are  large,  and  the  limbs  reach  out  from  thirty 
to  forty  feet  all  around  the  tree.  The  ministers  are 
good  men,  and  most  of  them  have  the  work  at  heart. 
The  members  are  much  devoted  to  the  cause  of  Christ. 
How  much  they  need  help ! — earnest  workers.  If  I 
were  younger,  and  really  desired  to  work  for  Christ, 
I  would  come  to  California.  Young  men  in  the  east- 
ern States  who  can  hardly  find  work  to  do  ought  to 
look  to  this  rich  and  needy  field.  What  if  it  is  a  few 
miles  from  home ;  Jesus  is  here,  and  immortal  souls 
are  here.  There  is  much  work  for  the  Church  to  do 
in  this  State,  and  now  is  the  time  to  work.  The 
country  is  settling  up  very  rapidly.  One  great  want 
is  church-houses.  A  few  years  of  faithful  and  ear- 
nest work  by  energetic  men  would  establish  the 
Church." 

Having  completed  his  work  in  California,  he  made 


164  liiography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

arrangements  to  start  for  the  Oregon  Conference. 
He  could  go  bj  land,  on  the  stage-coach,  or  by  water. 
"From  the  representations  of  others,  I  had  a  right 
to  expect  that  if  I  should  go  bj  water  there  would 
more  than  likely  be  a  pretty  general  revolt  of  the 
internal  states,  and  not  liking  secession  movements  of 
any  kind,  I  concluded  to  try  the  stage.  So  gathering 
up  my  baggage,  I  was  off.  Six  hundred  miles  by 
stage,  through  a  mountainous  country,  looked  rather 
formidable ;  but  having  set  this  as  a  mark  in  life,  to 
go  as  far  as  I  could,  I  resolved  to  try.  The  first  day 
out  from  Sacramento  was  a  day  of  considerable  trial. 
The  dust  was  so  intensely  bad  as  to  almost  suffocate 
the  passengers. 

"Eeaching  the  foothills,  we  commenced  the  gradual 
ascent.  On  and  on  and  still  on  we  went,  through 
deep  ravines,  around  terrible  gulches  and  canyons, 
until  we  reached  the  foot  of  Trinity  Mountains. 
There  we  commenced  to  go  up  in  earnest.  For  more 
than  a  day  we  had  been  ascending,  and  now  we  had 
six  miles  more  to  the  summit.  There  opened  the  fin- 
est scenery  I  had  ever  looked  upon.  The  road  winds 
along  the  side  of  the  mountain,  where,  to  the  unskilled 
engineer,  it  would  be  impassable.  In  some  places,  the 
road  is  very  narrow,  on  one  side  it  may  be  two  hun- 
dred feet  high,  almost  perpendicular,  and  on  the 
other  side  as  far  down.  Everything  seems  to  depend 
on  the  skill  of  the  driver.  A  variation  of  one  foot, 
and  you  go  down  from  two  to  three  hundred  feet. 
Reaching  the  summit,  you  might  imagine  the  worst 
is  now  over;  but  no,  it  is  just  commencing.     The 


Second  Term  as  Bishop  165 

driver  cracks  his  whip,  and  away  you  go,  down,  down, 
down,  full  speed,  from  eight  to  ten  miles  an  hour, 
never  checking  up  until  you  reach  the  bottom  on  the 
other  side.  We  now  pass  over  a  dismal  region,  with 
hills,  bluffs,  rocks,  gulches,  and  mountains  all  around, 
until  we  reach  the  foot  of  Scott  Mountain." 

He  crossed  this  on  a  beautiful  moonlight  night. 
An  incident  occurred  which  he  never  forgot:  "We 
were  moving  up  the  grade  at  a  very  slow  rate.  The 
night  was  cool — rather  chilly.  All  the  curtains  were 
fastened  down.  Two  or  three  of  the  passengers  were 
asleep.  The  road,  except  at  a  few  places,  was  very 
narrow.  We  met  the  stage  coming  from  the  north, 
and  our  driver  took  the  lower  side.  I  supposed  we 
were  passing  nicely,  when  suddenly  our  driver  called 
for  help.  I  tore  the  curtains  loose  to  spring  out,  but 
was  hindered,  for  the  other  stage  was  in  the  way.  I 
could  get  out  only  by  jumping  on  the  top  of  the  other 
stage,  and  then  jumping  down  at  the  rear  end.  Up 
to  this  time  I  did  not  comprehend  the  situation.  In 
attempting  to  pass,  the  leader  horse  had  been  pressed 
so  near  the  edge  that  he  had  gone  over.  There  was 
a  stone  wall  about  three  or  four  feet  high ;  at  the  bot- 
tom of  this  there  was  a  projection  of  some  two  or 
three  feet,  and  he  had  caught  in  that.  The  off  horse 
seemed  to  comprehend  the  situation,  and  stood  firm 
as  a  rock,  and  thereby  kept  the  other  from  going  over. 
By  a  hard  effort  he  was  gotten  back  into  the  road. 
Our  vehicle  stood  on  the  very  edge  of  the  road.  If 
this  leader  horse  had  not  caught  on  the  projection, 
he  would  have  drawn  the  other  horse  after  him,  and 


166  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

the  two  would  have  drawn  the  two  wheel-horses  over, 
and,  of  necessity,  we  must  all  have  gone  down  from 
two  to  three  hundred  feet.  But  the  Lord  reigneth, 
and  the  mountain  was  crossed  safely." 

The  mountains  in  the  Humboldt  region  are  not  as 
high  as  those  already  crossed.  Soon  he  came  in  sight 
of  good  old  Mt.  Shasta,  which  was  forty  miles  away, 
and  yet  did  not  seem  more  than  five,  rising  up  in  the 
shape  of  a  cone  about  15,000  feet  above  the  level  of 
the  sea.  It  was  refreshing  to  look  upon  it,  and  see 
the  snow  glistening  in  the  sunlight.  Soon  he  was 
over  the  line  into  Oregon.  "Here  is  the  finest  timber, 
and  the  most  of  it,  I  ever  saw  in  one  country.  The 
fir-trees  attain  the  height  of  three  hundred  feet,  rang- 
ing from  three  to  six  feet  in  diameter  at  the  base. 
For  more  than  one  hundred  miles  we  passed  through 
this  kind  of  country.  Here  in  this  dismal  region 
we  passed  through  what  is  called  the  Ten  Mile  Can- 
yon, the  wildest  place  I  ever  saw ;  sometimes  we  were 
above  the  tops  of  the  tallest  trees.  Many  years  ago, 
an  emigrant  train  got  into  this  place,  and  was  nine 
weeks  in  going  ten  miles.  Soon  we  reached  the  Wil- 
lamette Valley.  I  am  now  in  Philomath,  some  sev- 
enty miles  from  the  head  of  the  valley. 

"Do  you  ask  me  how  I  feel  ?  Five  days  and  nights 
in  the  stage  through  those  mountains  gives  a  man  a 
bit  of  experience  that  he  will  not  soon  forget.  I 
slept  four  hours  during  the  trip;  not  on  the  stage, 
mind  you;  that  was  out  of  the  question,  but  they 
stopped  at  one  place  that  long.  I  am  badly  used  up. 
Every  bone  and  muscle  is  sore — I  am  sore  all  over; 


Second  Term  as  Bishop  167 

and  that,  you  know,  is  a  good  deal.  Artemus  Ward 
said  that  Brigham  Young  was  the  most  married  man 
he  ever  saw.  I  presume  I  was  the  most  sore  man  in 
this  region.  There  was  but  one  through  passenger, 
and  he  gave  it  up  the  fifth  evening.  I  advise  all  men 
everywhere  that  have  the  least  regard  for  a  common 
humanity  never  to  undertake  to  go  through  without 
stopping  at  least  twice  to  rest  and  sleep." 

In  a  late  letter,  when  he  had  visited  somewhat,  he 
gives  an  interesting  account  of  Oregon.  It  was,  in 
many  respects,  the  opposite  of  California,  which  he 
had  just  left.  The  latter  was  warm  and  dry ;  here  it 
was  cold  and  damp.  He  was  charmed  with  the  Wil- 
lamette Valley,  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  long  and 
from  twenty  to  fifty  miles  wide,  almost  a  state  in 
itself.  He  found  the  largest  and  most  delicious  apples 
and  pears  he  had  ever  seen — wheat,  barley,  and  pota- 
toes in  abundance.  Like  all  others  who  go  there,  he 
was  charmed  with  the  view  from  Philomath.  "The 
valley,  with  all  its  richness  spread  out  before  the  eye, 
is  dotted  over  with  farms  and  farm-houses.  Then  the 
foothills  rise  up  in  a  solid  mass.  Then  beyond,  and 
far  above  them,  rise,  in  quiet  grandeur,  the  moun- 
tains, around  the  tops  of  which  the  clouds  hover  to- 
day, as  if  delighted  with  their  beauty.  Away  in  the 
distance,  old  Mt.  Hood  rises  up  with  its  snow-capped 
summit,  looking  down  in  silent  mockery  upon  other 
mountains  that  elsewhere  would  be  regarded  as  great 
in  themselves.  Then  there  are  Mt.  Jefferson  and  the 
Three  Sisters,  all  covered  with  perpetual  snow  and 
ice,  rising  up  far  above  the  surrounding  mountains. 


168  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

All  in  all,  the  view  from  Philomath  is  most  delight- 
ful." 

There  were  present  twenty-three  of  the  twenty- 
eight  members  of  this  conference.  In  some  respects^ 
they  were  doing  well.  The  bishop  complains  that  a 
number  of  their  best  men  are  not  consecrated  to  the- 
work :  "They  are  local,  exceedingly  so.  I  pray  that 
God  may  thrust  them  out.  I  would  remind  those  dear 
brethren  that  those  who  will  be  rich  fall  into  divers- 
temptations." 

He  finds  a  prejudice  here  against  the  Chinamen,, 
as  he  found  it  in  California.  He  thinks  they  ar& 
shamefully  abused.  "The  same  spirit  that  reduced 
the  Africans  to  slavery  is  hovering  around  the  China- 
men. If  the  law  would  allow  it,  they  would  be  made 
slaves  at  once.  Our  Church  stands  up  for  them,  as  she 
always  did  for  the  slave  in  the  South.  If  the  people 
along  the  Coast  could  lay  aside  their  ungodly  preju- 
dice, and  try,  by  every  reasonable  means,  to  educate 
and  elevate  the  Chinaman,  it  would  ultimately  turn 
to  their  advantage.  Chinamen,  upon  first  coming 
here,  eat  little  or  no  bread,  but  they  soon  learn  to  eat 
it.  Many  of  them  return  to  their  own  country,  and 
will  introduce  our  manner  of  living  among  their  own 
countrymen,  and,  by  this  means,  there  will  be  opened 
up  to  the  Coast  a  market  that  will  be  a  source  of 
great  wealth.  If  the  people  would  look  at  this,  in- 
stead of  nursing  their  petty  prejudices,  they  would 
give  stronger  evidence  of  good  common  sense.  God 
will  hold  this  nation  responsible  for  the  manner  in 
which  it  treats  this  poor,  ignorant  people.     In  the 


Second  Term  as  Bishop  169 

providence  of  God,  they  are  here,  not  to  be  abused 
and  trodden  down,  but  to  be  civilized  and  Christian- 
ized." 

He  takes  a  steamer  at  Wheatland,  on  the  Willa- 
mette River,  for  Oregon  City.  ''There  is  nothing  pre- 
possessing in  the  appearance  of  the  city,  except,  it 
may  be,  the  beauty  of  the  scenery.  Rocks  piled  upon 
rocks,  with  here  and  there  a  fir-tree  rising  up  from 
among  them.  Here  the  river  comes  rushing  down 
over  the  rocks  for  a  distance  of  forty  feet,  dashing 
its  waters  into  foam.  The  natural  advantages  for 
water-power  are  not  surpassed  anywhere,  and  the 
Oregonians  are  availing  themselves  of  them.  There 
is  sufficient  available  water-power  at  this  place  to 
drive  all  the  machinery  that  Oregon  will  ever  need. 
If  I  were  a  poet,  I  would  describe  this  place  in  verse, 
but  I  am  not.  I  feel  some  poetic  flashes  once  in  a 
while,  but  they  are  only  flashes." 

Leaving  Portland,  he  goes  up  the  river  Columbia, 
and  is  charmed  by  his  surroundings:  "Mountains 
and  rocks  rise  almost  perpendicularly  to  the  height 
of  from  one  to  three  thousand  feet.  Here  and  there 
a  large  rock  rises  up  fifteen  hundred  feet.  If  I  say 
it  is  weird,  grand,  magnificent,  it  will  be  but  faintly 
describing  the  scenery  to  those  who  have  never  seen 
it.  Here  is  where  poets  are  said  to  catch  their  in- 
spirations." 

When  he  reaches  Cascade  Falls,  he  finds  a  wild- 
looking  place.  He  takes  the  cars,  the  first  he  has  seen 
since  leaving  California,  and  rides  around  these  falls, 
a  distance  of  six  miles,  and  then  takes  a  steamer 


170  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

again.  A  ride  of  forty  miles  brings  him  to  Dallas, 
a  town  of  one  thousand  people.  "The  river  at  Dallas 
winds  among  the  rocks  in  narrow  channels,  sometimes 
falling  from  eight  to  fifteen  feet.  Here  and  there, 
as  we  are  passing  up  the  river,  we  come  to  what  are 
called  'rapids.'  It  seems  impossible  that  any  craft 
could  be  built  to  pass  over  them  where  the  water  runs 
as  rapidly  as  it  does  here.  The  water  rushes  down 
between  and  over  rocks,  boiling  and  whirling,  until 
it  iB  all  in  a  foam.  Yet  our  little  boat,  guided  by  a 
skillful  hand,  and  under  a  full  head  of  steam,  passes 
over  them  beautifully,  and  then  pursues  her  even 
way." 

Passing  on,  he  soon  comes  in  sight  of  Blue  Moun- 
tains. He  is  one  hundred  miles  above  Dallas;  does 
not  stop  during  the  day ;  does  not  see  a  house  or 
a  white  man  on  the  shore  all  day;  sees  Indians  in 
plenty;  not  a  tree  to  be  seen  anywhere;  all  is  bar- 
ren and  unfruitful.  The  boat  goes  no  further  than 
Wallulah.  Takes  the  stage  for  thirty  miles  through 
sage-brush  and  grease-wood,  and  reaches  Walla  Walla. 
Ten  miles  more  on  horseback,  most  of  it  after  night, 
and  he  reaches  the  conference  room,  weary  and  tired. 

While  pleased  with  the  scenery,  he  saw  other  things 
not  so  pleasing.  "At  the  hotels,  on  the  steamer,  al- 
most everywhere,  you  will  see  men  gambling.  Almost 
every  man  seems  to  understand  it.  Men  who,  at  first 
sight,  have  the  appearance  of  gentlemen,  are  first- 
class  gamblers.  On  my  whole  trip  from  Portland  to 
Walla  Walla,  I  did  not  find  a  single  Christian.  I 
could  not  tell  their  politics,  but  I  observed  that  they 


Second  Term  as  Bishop  171 

were  all  down  on  John  Chinaman  and  the  fifteenth 
amendment.  They  are  white  men,  and  believe  in 
white  man's  government.  Concerning  the  Indians,  it 
seems  that  every  effort  to  civilize  and  Christianize 
them  is  a  failure." 

He  held  the  Cascade  Conference.  "Ten  ministers 
and  about  two  hundred  members  would  compose  the 
whole  conference.  More  could  have  been  done  here 
but  for  lack  of  men.  Ministers  are  poorly  paid,  and 
the  people  have  no  means  to  erect  houses  of  worship. 
Some  had  worked  very  faithfully,  but  a  few  of  them 
would  very  easily  bear  a  little  more  energy."  His 
work  on  this  trip  is  now  done,  and  there  is  a  discour- 
aging look  ahead  of  him.  He  has  some  five  hundred 
miles  to  travel  before  he  reaches  the  railway,  and 
many  more  miles  before  he  gets  home. 


CHAPTER  X. 

Second  Term  as  Bishop,  Completed. — 1869-1873. 

Soon  after  Bishop  Weaver's  return  from  the 
Coast,  he  removed  his  family  from  Roanoke,  Indiana, 
to  Baltimore,  Maryland,  and  occupied  the  parsonage 
there  which  belonged  to  the  East  District.  This  had 
been  assigned  to  him  as  his  special  field  of  work  for 
this  quadrennium.  At  the  appointed  times,  he  held 
the  conferences  as  usual ;  at  other  periods  he  was  busy 
dedicating  churches,  assisting  the  brethren  in  spe- 
cial meetings,  and  when  not  otherwise  engaged,  using 
his  pen  for  the  edification  of  the  Church.  Dr.  Theo- 
dore Cuyler,  for  a  number  of  years  in  his  more  active 
ministry,  wrote  communications  for  the  !N^ew  York 
Independent,  usually  on  some  phase  of  religious  life 
or  teaching.  These  soon  became  very  popular,  and 
added  greatly  to  the  value  of  the  journal.  In  his 
later  years,  in  consultation  with  a  friend,  he  said  he 
was  not  sure  but  he  had  been  of  more  service  to  the 
church  by  these  contributions  to  the  religious  press 
than  he  had  been  by  his  more  direct  ministry.  We 
are  not  sure  but  Bishop  Weaver  endeared  himself 
more  to  the  whole  Church  by  his  writings  than  in 
any  other  way.  His  other  work  made  him  more  or 
less  local.  By  these  articles  he  kept  his  hand,  so  to 
speak,  on  the  whole  Church.     They  were  simple,  and 


iKii-  Jonathan  Weavek.— In  1870. 


/Second  Term  as  BLshopy  Completed  173 

thus  easily  understood,  eminently  religious,  and  thus 
adapted  to  the  earnest  Christian ;  they  showed  a  good 
knowledge  of  human  nature,  as  well  as  of  the  Church 
and  its  wants;  they  had  in  them  a  little  vein  of 
pleasantry  now  and  then,  which  added  to  their  enjoy- 
ment. Thus,  full  of  good  sense,  earnest,  sincere, 
brief,  and  penetrating,  they  were  read,  admired,  and 
did  their  work. 

In  one  of  these  he  helps  to  answer  the  question 
which  was  always  pressing  his  heart,  Why  do  not  all 
our  ministers  succeed  in  w^inning  souls  to  Christ  ? 
"There  are,  indeed,  many  hindrances  to  the  good 
work.  There  are  the  natural  enmity  of  the  human 
heart  and  the  power  of  Satan,  worldly-mindedness, 
and  formality;  all  these  stand  in  the  way  of  a  min- 
ister's success,  and  must  needs  be  overcome.  But  I 
am  convinced  that  the  greatest  hindrance  of  all  is 
want  of  entire  devotedness  to  the  work.  The  apos- 
tolic standard  of  ministerial  devotedness  was  this : 
'Meditate  upon  these  things;  give  thyself  wholly  to 
them;  that  thy  profiting  may  appear  to  all.  Take 
heed  unto  thyself  and  unto  the  doctrine;  continue 
in  them :  for  in  doing  this  thou  shalt  both  save  thy- 
self and  them  that  hear  thee.'  The  resolution  of  the 
apostles  was,  'We  will  give  ourselves  continually  to 
prayer  and  to  the  ministry  of  the  Word.' 

"It  is  a  lamentable  fact  that  they  who  have  taken 
upon  themselves  this  most  solemn  pledge  in  their 
ordination  may  wear  the  ministry  as  a  loose  garment, 
without  any  apparent  compunction  of  conscience.  It 
is  to  be  feared  their  hearts  are  not  in  the  work.     If 


174:  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

they  were  ever  called  of  God  to  the  work  of  the  min- 
istry, they  have  backslidden  in  heart.  How  can  any 
man  that  feels  the  responsibility  of  the  sacred  office 
treat  it  with  so  much  indifference?"  Words  wisely 
and  courageously  said ! 

In  a  later  article,  he  shows  that,  in  accordance  with 
the  principles  of  human  nature,  the  way  to  get  men 
away  from  one  course  of  life  is  to  show  them  a  bet- 
ter: "Earnest,  persevering  efforts  are  being  made 
to  induce  men  to  turn  away  from  the  vanities  and 
sinful  pleasures  of  this  world,  yet  the  vast  majority 
go  right  on  as  if  wrong-doing  would  as  certainly  end 
well  as  right-doing.  While  I  would  not  call  in 
question  the  honesty  of  any  man,  yet  I  am  well  con- 
vinced that  a  vast  amount  of  labor  is  lost  by  being 
misdirected,  or  in  not  fully  comprehending  the  na- 
ture of  man.  !Now,  whether  it  is  certainly  lawful  to 
expose  to  view,  at  proper  times  and  in  a  proper  spirit, 
the  evil  tendency  of  any  and  every  evil  practice,  I 
am  sure  it  is  not  the  better  way  to  be  continually 
dwelling  on  that  side  of  a  question.  We  seldom,  by 
a  law  in  our  nature,  let  go  an  existing  attachment,  ex- 
cept by  the  superior  force  of  a  higher  and  a  stronger 
one.  'It  is  the  lower  attachment  that  is  dissolved  by 
the  higher.'  If  I  were  preaching  to  Chinamen,  I 
would  not  expect  to  win  them  from  paganism  by  heap- 
ing abuse  upon  Confucius  and  Fo ;  but  by  letting 
them  see  what  Christ  is,  show  them  a  more  excellent 
way ;  dissolve  the  lower  attachments  by  a  higher." 

"Herein,  I  conceive,  lies  the  real  power  of  the 
church  of  Christ;  not  in  constant  denunciations  of 


Second  Term  as  Bishop,  Completed  175 

the  practices  of  wicked  men,  but  by  such  a  life  as 
shall  demonstrate  that  wisdom's  ways  are  ways  of 
pleasantness.  Here,  also,  lies  a  great  advantage, 
growing  out  of  open-door  experience  meetings.  Let 
Christians,  W'hose  every-day  deportment  is  consistent 
with  their  profession,  relate  in  the  hearing  of  those 
who  take  pleasure  in  sin  something  about  this  better 
way.  They  have  tried  both  roads,  and  are  prepared 
to  report.  Wicked  men  will  listen,  and  not  a  few  of 
them  have  been  won  to  Christ  in  this  way." 

In  his  earlier  ministry,  he  knew  something  of  the 
sufferings  and  privations  of  the  poor  itinerant  So 
he  is  always  ready  to  put  in  a  plea  for  a  living  sup- 
port for  him.  He  lived  to  see  a  marked  improve- 
ment in  this  respect,  although  we  are  not  yet  at  the 
top  of  the  hill. 

"For  those  men  who  are  earnestly  engaged  in  the 
itinerant  work,  I  would  speak.  There  is  no  class  of 
men  more  abundant  in  labors  and  sacrifices  than  they, 
and  there  is  no  class  of  men  so  poorly  supported  as 
they.  The  faithful  minister  is  a  laborer,  and 
God  says  he  must  be  paid ;  that  he  shall  live  of  the 
gospel,  not  on  it,  as  some  might  desire.  I  have  had 
the  heartache  more  than  once  while  visiting  minis- 
ters' families.  Everything  in  and  about  the  house 
indicated  w^ant.  They  live  in  poor  houses,  have  but 
a  little,  plain  furniture,  and  children  barefooted  and 
ragged  in  cold  weather.  You  say  I  should  not  name 
this  so  publicly ;  but  how  else  can  we  reach  it  ?  An 
occasional  earthquake  is  better  than  eternal  silence; 
only  so  the  people  are  moved. 


176  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

"In  urging  this  matter,  I  am  not  wholly  governed 
by  any  sympathies  for  the  minister  and  his  family, — • 
to  be  sure  this  has  its  influence  upon  my  mind, — 
but  I  am  looking  to  the  best  interest  of  the  cause  of 
Christ.  I  tell  you  that  ministers  are  men.  They 
must  have  something  to  feed  and  clothe  themselves 
and  their  families.  Now  when  these  things  are  want- 
ing, it  is  impossible  for  them  to  do  the  work  they 
otherwise  could  and  would  do.  The  cause  of  Christ 
must  suffer  under  the  pastoral  care  of  a  half-sup- 
ported minister." 

He  not  only  saw  the  great  need,  but  suggested  a 
remedy:  "In  the  first  place,  we  want  live  men  in 
the  steward's  office,  men  who  have  some  heart  in  this 
matter.  Then  let  them  canvass  the  whole  community, 
in  the  church  and  out  of  it.  There  are  scores  of  men 
outside  of  the  church  that  will  help  to  support  a  faith- 
ful, earnest  minister.  If  the  society  has  no  male 
member  that  is  fit  for  the  office  of  steward,  put  a 
good  sister  into  the  office.  All  that  is  necessary  is 
for  the  minister  to  go  to  work  as  a  man  of  God,  full 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  faith.  Then  let  the  leaders, 
stewards,  and  all  who  feel  the  importance  of  the 
work,  take  this  matter  in  hand,  urge  the  necessary, 
yes,  the  absolute  duty  of  supporting  the  minister, 
and  it  will  be  done  handsomely. 

"If  this  is  not  done,  serious  results  will  follow. 
Some  of  the  very  best  talent  is  driven  out  of  the  itin- 
eracy for  want  of  an  adequate  support,  and  others  are 
compelled  to  connect  some  other  business  with  their 
appointed  work  in  order  to  make  a  living.     The  con- 


Second  Term  as  Bishop,  Completed  111 

sequence  is,  they  are  crippled,  the  work  is  crippled, 
and  souls  will  be  lost.  Ministers  ought  not  to  be 
ashamed  to  work  with  their  hands,  but  I  tell  you  that 
if  ministers  do  the  work  that  ought  to  be  done  on 
their  charges,  they  will  not  have  time  for  other  work. 
They  must  read,  study,  write,  preach,  and  visit. 
There  is  enough  to  fill  their  heads,  hearts,  and  hands 
without  working  half  their  time  for  their  bread  and 
meat." 

He  has  no  good  word  for  lazy  preachers.  They  do 
not  earn  their  pay :  '' A  faithful  minister  has  just  as 
good  a  right  to  lay  by  a  little  for  old  age  as  have  other 
men.  The  majority  of  our  ministers  that  die  leave 
their  families  in  a  very  destitute  condition.  Their 
wives,  who  have  shared  in  the  trials  and  deprivations 
of  an  itinerant  life,  are  left  to  battle  with  the  waves 
and  storms  of  life  without  anything  to  lean  upon 
except  their  own  physical  energy,  and  that  often 
broken  and  shattered.  These  are  facts  too  painful  to 
dwell  upon ;  nevertheless,  they  are  facts,  and  the  time 
has  come  when  they  ought  to  be  remedied.  All  that  is 
necessary  is  for  the  leading  members  in  each  society 
to  unite  with  their  stewards  and  urge  this  matter  for- 
ward, and  the  work  will  be  done,  and  well  done." 

He  was  always  more  or  less  optimistic  in  his  na- 
ture, and  in  his  new  location  at  this  time,  and  with 
his  surroundings,  he  may  have  felt  more  hopeful  than 
ever.  Indeed,  a  faithful  child  of  God  must  believe 
that  God  will  carry  forward  his  plans  in  spite  of  all 
opposition.  Strong  in  this  faith,  he  summons  us  to 
the  same  courageous  outlook: 


178  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

"I  believe  the  world  is  growing  better.  Things 
look  more  hopeful  to  me  than  ever  before.  There  are 
more  Bibles  in  the  world  to-daj  [1870]  than  there 
were  at  any  time  past.  There  are  more  ministers 
at  work ;  there  are  more  missionaries  in  foreign  fields. 
A  little  while  ago,  the  Bible  could  be  had  in  but  one 
language,  then  in  two,  and  now  in  more  than  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  different  languages  and  dialects. 
There  are  more  religious  periodicals  than  ever  be- 
fore ;  more  books  on  theology,  sacred  biography,  and 
religious  subjects  generally,  than  ever  before;  more 
colleges  under  the  supervision  of  the  church,  more 
children  attending  Sunday  school  in  1870  than  in 
any  year  since  the  world  began.  Every  revolution 
of  the  wheel  of  progress  develops  some  new  plan  for 
advancing  the  cause  of  Christ.  I  know  little  about 
what  people  call  a  millennium.  Whether  Christ  will 
reign  with  his  saints  a  thousand  years,  I  cannot  tell. 
This  much  I  do  know,  that  Christ  is  reigning,  and 
will  reign  until  all  enemies  are  put  under  his  feet. 
Infidels  may  scoff  and  deride,  and  papal  Rome  may 
issue  her  bulls  and  edicts  and  declare  papal  infalli- 
bility ;  no  matter.  Hell  from  beneath  may  move,  and 
the  old  lion  roar,  but  the  morning  cometh,  slowly,  it 
may  be,  but  surely." 

He  was  thoroughly  loyal  to  his  own  Church,  and 
did  not  like  to  hear  anything  said  against  her,  but 
this  did  not  put  him  under  obligation  to  abuse  other 
good  people.  He  had  the  warmest  sympathy  and 
friendliness  for  other  Christian  people,  of  whatever 
church  or  order,  and  hence  he  could  well  say:     "An 


Second  Term  as  Bishop,  Completed  179 

ecclesiastical  bigot  is  one  of  the  most  detestable  char- 
acters on  earth.  No  matter  how  cold  and  selfish  a 
man  may  be  in  an  unregenerate  state,  pure  religion 
and  undefiled  before  God  will  make  him  generous. 
Oh,  this  narrow,  bigoted,  self-righteous  spirit,  how  I 
hate  it!  It  carries  in  its  forehead  the  mark  of  the 
beast.  It  is  a  relic  of  barbarism,  baptized  in  the 
cesspool  of  Rome.  It  is  high  time  that  Christians 
everywhere  should  have  done  with  their  bigotry.  It 
is  time  they  should  exercise  Christian  liberality,  by 
allowing  those  who  may  differ  from  them  as  much 
virtue  and  integrity  as  they  possibly  can.  There 
need  be  no  sacrifice  of  principles  in  the  exercise  of 
Christian  generosity." 

Bishop  Weaver  held  the  Allegheny  Conference  at 
Johnstown,  Pennsylvania,  January  27,  1870  ;  in  Feb- 
ruary, the  Virginia  Conference  at  Chewsville,  Mary- 
land. He  was  present  and  helped  to  dedicate  the 
"Biblical  Chair'"  provided  for  by  Bishop  Russel. 

In  the  fall  of  1870,  he  started  to  hold  a  session  of 
the  Tennessee  Conference.  There  had  been  a  flood, 
which  swept  away  a  number  of  railroad  bridges.  He 
was  delayed  at  Lynchburg,  Virginia,  from  which 
place  he  wrote : 

"To  add  to  the  difficulties,  some  of  the  railroad 
companies  are  at  war  with  each  other.  I  reached 
here  last  evening,  over  the  Orange  &  Alexandria 
Railroad,  just  five  minutes  too  late  for  the  Tennessee 
road,  and,  there  being  but  one  train  a  day,  I  was 
compelled  to  remain  here  twenty-four  hours.  This 
is    Saturday,    and    my    conference    commenced    on 


180  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

Thursday  afternoon.  I  am  two  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  from  the  place,  and  cannot  leave  until  5 :  30 
r.  M.  By  the  time  1  reach  Tennessee  the  conference 
will  be,  as  poets  say  of  winter  in  springtime,  '  'T  is 
over  and  gone.'  But  I  cannot  help  it,  for  I  am  doing 
my  best.  The  president  of  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio 
road  told  me  before  I  started  that  I  had  better  give 
up  the  notion  of  trying  to  get  through,  but  I  told 
him  I  did  not  belong  to  that  family.  Nothing  can 
be  accomplished  without  an  effort,  and  I  will  try." 

Try  he  did,  but  that  did  not  prevent  him  from 
having  his  own  opinion  of  the  spirit  that  seemed  to 
actuate  these  railroad  managers: 

"If  certain  officials  at  this  place  could  have  more 
regard  for  the  traveling  public,  and  le«s  regard  for 
their  codfish  dignity,  forty  or  fifty  passengers  would 
not  be  laying  over  here  to-day.  Our  train  was  not 
more  than  a  mile  from  the  depot  when  the  Tennessee 
train  moved  off.  This  is  an  imposition  on  the  travel- 
ing public.  Some  of  the  passengers  were  men  of  busi- 
ness ;  there  were  ladies  with  children,  anxious  to  get 
on,  and  others  that  were  scarce  of  money.  But,  no 
matter,  these  dignitaries  must  gratify  their  noble  feel- 
ings; the  world  must  know  and  feel  that  they  are 
powerful  men.  Well,  well,  time  will  make  all  things 
even.  There  are  little  acts  of  kindness  and  generosity 
that  men  can  show,  without  costing  them  a  cent,  and 
that  would  be  worth  vastly  more  than  their  willful- 
ness, but  they  are  so  blinded  by  their  ideas  of  self 
that  they  cannot  see  it.  Who  will  praise  a  man  for 
exercising  his  willfulness  where  nobody  is,  or  can 


Second  Term  as  Bishop,  Completed  181 

be  benefited  bj  it,  not  even  himself  ?  It  is  scarcely 
worth,  while  for  men  to  show,  or  attempt  to  show 
their  dignity,  for  the  little  time  they  will  live.  Who 
will  praise  their  meanness  when  they  are  dead  ?  Why 
not  be  noble,  generous,  and  good  ? 

"All  along  the  railroad  I  see  houses  draped  in 
mourning  for  Robert  E,  Lee.  There  are  thousands 
of  hearts  draped  in  mourning  over  the  dear  ones  that 
fell  in  defending  the  flag  that  Robert  E.  Lee  strove 
to  trail  in  the  dust.  Whatever  may  be  said  in  favor 
of  Mr.  Lee  as  a  gentleman,  a  scholar,  and  a  Christian, 
that  one  act  of  his  life  will  remain  a  dark  spot  on  his 
character  as  long  as  there  are  hearts  that  love  the 
Stars  and  Stripes. 

"It  is  a  beautiful  day.  The  sun  is  shining  brightly, 
but  for  my  life  I  cannot  feel  cheerful.  If  I  had  no 
engagements,  it  might  be  otherwise.  I  submit  simply 
because  I  cannot  help  it.  Boarding  here  is  four  dol- 
lars a  day.  I  can  do  better  than  that  at  home.  I 
must  stop  writing,  lest  I  say  something  that  ought 
not  to  be  said." 

But  patience  and  perseverance  will  accomplish  a 
great  work.  He  finally  reached  the  conference  room 
on  Sabbath,  at  ten  o'clock,  just  three  days  behind 
time.  He  called  the  conference  together,  closed 
up  the  business,  arranged  to  spend  a  week  in  the 
neighborhood,  here  and  there,  so  as  to  attend  a 
dedication  the  following  Sunday  at  Greenville,  Ten- 


The  conference  was  small,  composed  of  only  seven 
members,  most  of  them  young  and  inexperienced,  but 


182  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

earnest  and  good  men.  "The  church,  membership,  in 
the  main,  is  poor,  but  they  are  able,  under  a  proper 
discipline,  to  do  more  than  they  have  been  doing. 
The  country  is  good ;  climate  all  that  can  be  desired. 
What  is  wanting  is  system  and  energy.  A  little  pow- 
der under  some  of  their  heels,  with  somebody  to  touch 
it  off,  would  be  a  good  thing,  so  it  seems  to  me.  In 
times  past,  the  opposition  has  been  very  strong,  and 
now  it  exists,  but  not  as  heretofore.  The  United 
Brethren  Church  has  a  work  to  do  in  this  country, 
and  she  will  not  be  guiltless  if  she  neglects  it.  Many 
of  the  churches  in  this  section  are  exceedingly  formal. 
A  great  reformation  is  needed.  The  plain,  simple, 
spiritual  worship  peculiar  to  the  United  Brethren 
Church  is  needed  among  this  peopla  The  field  is 
large,  and  the  harvest  is  fully  ripe,  and  if  we  thrust 
in  the  sickle  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  we  shall  gather 
a  rich  harvest." 

Everywhere  he  went  he  met  with  a  kind  reception. 
"The  people  here  are  generally  very  hospitable.  One 
cannot  help  but  feel  at  home  among  them.  Ko  mat- 
ter how  plain  the  fare  is,  it  is  free,  and  you  are  made 
to  feel  that  it  is  so.  If  the  people  had  more  enter- 
prise, with  the  advantages  they  have  of  climate  and 
soil,  this  would  soon  become  one  of  the  best  countries 
I  have  ever  seen.  They  can  raise  wheat,  corn,  cotton, 
potatoes,  and  fruit  in  abundance." 

He  was  taken  sick  a  few  days  after  he  returned 
from  this  trip,  probably  brought  on  by  over-exertion 
in  meeting  and  filling  his  engagements.  His  physi- 
cian bade  him  remain  at  home  for  some  time,  to 


Second  Term  as  Bishop,  Completed  183 

rest  and  recruit,  and  he  did  so,  canceling  the  engage- 
ments then  made. 

His  report  for  the  East  District  for  the  year  1870 
shows  an  increase  of  2,705  members,  with  other  data 
showing  a  good  growth.  He  then  adds :  "There  has 
been  a  good  degree  of  prosperity  in  the  district  dur- 
ing the  year,  and,  in  some  of  the  departments,  a  very 
encouraging  advance.  God  has  been  with  us,  and 
strengthened  our  hearts  and  hands.  The  ministers, 
almost  unanimously,  agreed  to  give  themselves  more 
earnestly  to  the  good  work.  If  this  is  done,  we  shall 
prosper  more  and  more.  God  will  give  us  success 
in  proportion  as  we  consecrate  ourselves  to  him,  and 
to  the  work  of  winning  souls  to  Christ.  In  the  name 
of  him  who  has  committed  unto  us  the  words  of  con- 
ciliation, let  us  thrust  in  the  sickle  and  gather  in  the 
ripe  grain.  Remember  that  he  that  goeth  forth  weep- 
ing, bearing  precious  seed,  shall  presently  come  home 
rejoicing,  bringing  his  sheaves  with  him.  Work  to- 
day and  to-morrow,  and  the  next  day  you  shall  rest." 

Not  long  after  this.  Bishop  Weaver  was  appointed 
by  the  executive  committee  of  the  proposed  theological 
institution  at  Dayton,  to  solicit  donations  in  books  for 
the  library.  His  heart  was  thoroughly  enlisted  in  this 
enterprise.  In  a  note,  he  said :  "I  am  deeply  inter- 
ested in  the  Seminary.  We  must  have  it;  should 
have  had  it  long  ago.  We  are  late  in  commencing, 
and  must  work  all  the  harder.  God  will  help  us,  if  we 
let  him,"  The  editor  adds,  "We  hope  the  bishop  will 
not  only  meet  with  abundant  success  in  securing  books 
for  the  library,  but  that  he  will  also  meet  with  breth- 


184  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

ren  who  will  propose  to  him  liberal  donations  for  th& 
endowment  and  buildings." 

His  first  newspaper  article  in  1871  was  on  "The 
Church's  Power,"  which  he  shows  does  not  consist  in 
members,  nor  wealth,  nor  in  alliance  with  worldly  in- 
stitutions, but  in  God's  spiritual  presence.  Follow- 
ing  this  came  others,  "Religions,  Natural  and  Re-^ 
vealed,"  "Forsaking  All  for  Christ,"  "More  About 
Jesus" ;  more  should  be  heard  in  the  pulpit,  in  class- 
meeting,  prayer-meeting,  in  the  family,  in  the  streets, 
in  business  circles,  everywhere. 

He  held  East  German  Conference  in  Myerstown, 
Lebanon  County,  Pennsylvania,  March  1,  1871 ; 
twenty-six  members  present.  A  missionary  meeting 
was  held  in  the  afternoon  of  Sabbath,  and  over  $700 
secured.  The  Virginia  Conference  had  been  held 
February  16,  at  Mt.  Hebron,  Grant  County,  West 
Virginia.  Parkersburg  Conference  was  held  March 
15,  at  Pennsboro,  West  Virginia. 

After  holding  his  fall  conferences,  he  returned  to 
West  Virginia  to  dedicate  three  churches.  He  was 
not  in  the  best  of  health.  The  trip,  however,  had 
benefited  him.  He  says:  "The  country,  in  the 
main,  is  rough,  and  many  of  the  people  are  poor. 
The  ministers,  for  the  most  part,  are  a  hard-working, 
self-sacrificing  class  of  men.  For  their  age,  there  id 
not  a  more  intelligent  class  of  ministers  to  be  found 
anywhere.  They  are  studious  and  earnest  in  tha 
great  work  of  the  Master,  but  they  are  poorly  sup- 
ported. Their  circuits  are  large,  requiring  a  great 
deal  of  hard  traveling.      Their  salaries  will  range 


Second  Term  as  Bishop^  Completed  185 

from  $100  to  $350.  Hilly  as  the  country  is,  if  some 
of  these  well-to-do  farmers  would  give  me  a  farm, 
with  some,  say  about  fifty,  of  their  fine  cattle,  I 
should  be  very  severely  tempted  to  take  it.  They  had 
better  not  make  the  offer  unless  they  are  serious." 

He  reported  for  the  year,  in  the  East  District, 
1,165  appointments,  1,031  classes,  34,740  members, 
an  increase  of  2,755  for  the  year.  Money  for  all  pur- 
poses, $189,768.32. 

"What  Shall  I  Do  with  Jesus  ?"  is  his  opening  ar- 
ticle in  the  Telescope  for  1872.  We  must  all  do  some- 
thing with  Jesus;  he  stands  in  the  way  of  each  one 
of  us.  Others  follow,  as  for  example:  "Experi- 
ence" ;  the  knowledge  derived  from  experience  is  the 
most  valuable  of  all  knowledge.  "Preaching" ;  if 
there  is  any  one  work  under  the  heavens  in  which 
men  ought  to  be  in  earnest,  it  is  in  preaching  the 
gospel.  "Observation" ;  those  who  have  been  de- 
prived of  the  advantages  of  an  early  education  may 
supply  this  lack  by  carefully  cultivating  the  habit 
of  observation.  "Selfishness" ;  "That  Better  Coun- 
try" ;  "On  and  Off" ;  a  little  difficult  for  him  to  under- 
stand how  it  is  that  men  professing  to  be  called  of 
God  to  preach  the  gospel  can  so  easily  lay  it  aside  and 
take  up  some  secular  employment.  "Contentment" ; 
"Our  Ministry" ;  we  need  more  workers ;  God  will 
send  them  if  we  will  let  him ;  our  colleges  cannot 
meet  the  demand.  Later,  he  pleads  through  the  press 
for  a  church  in  Washington  City. 

He  reports  for  the  year  1871 :  Appointments, 
1,002  ;  members,  35,769 ;  increase  of  1,647  during  the 


186  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

year;  collected  for  all  purposes,  $205,199.89.  The 
sessions  were  all  pleasant.  There  should  be  five  times 
as  many  parsonages.  There  are  about  two  hundred 
and  thirty  traveling  preachers,  and  only  five  parson- 
ages reported.  The  Church  paper  should  be  more 
generally  circulated;  there  is  about  one  Telescope  to 
every  thirteen  members.  He  made  this  report  from 
Baltimore,  Maryland. 

His  discussion  with  Rev.  Josiah  Davis  occurred 
this  year,  a  fuller  account  of  which  will  be  given  in  a 
later  chapter. 

His  book  on  "Divine  Providence"  appeared  about 
the  opening  of  1873,  and  was  well  received.  He  held 
the  Virginia  Conference  at  Hagerstown,  Maryland, 
February  13 ;  Pennsylvania,  at  Shippensburg,  Penn- 
sylvania, February  19 ;  East  Pennsylvania,  at  Ann- 
ville,  Pennsylvania,  March  6 ;  and  Parkersburg,  at 
Parkersburg,  West  Virginia,  March  12.  He  reports 
for  the  year  1872,  as  follows :  Appointments,  1,177 ; 
classes,  1,113;  members,  36,820;  increase,  1,562; 
total  paid  for  all  purposes,  $227,687.50.  There  had 
been  an  encouraging  advance  in  nearly  all  depart- 
ments of  Church  work.  A  few  articles  written  for 
the  Church  paper,  and  he  had  reached  another  Gen- 
eral Conference 


CHAPTER  XL 

Public  Discussions. 

In  northeastern  Ohio,  where  Bishop  Weaver  was 
reared  and  began  his  ministry,  the  people,  especially 
the  older  ones,  still  have  a  tradition  of  him  as  a 
wonderful  debater  against  the  heresies  of  Universal- 
ism.  He  was  early  driven  to  study  this  question  be- 
cause of  the  people  whom  he  met ;  and  when  he  went 
to  the  bottom  of  it,  he  spoke  with  a  courage  and  power 
which  seemed  almost  invincible. 

When  asked  by  a  friend  as  to  his  experience  in,  and 
also  his  judgment  as  to  the  value  of  theological  dis- 
cussions, he  wrote  him  this  reply :  "I  have  had  eight 
public  debates,  three  on  the  mode,  design,  and  sub- 
jects of  Christian  baptism,  four  on  Universalism,  and 
one  on  slavery.  In  each  case  I  was  challenged.  As 
a  rule,  I  would  say  that  public  debates  are  of  doubt- 
ful propriety.  In  some  instances,  good  has  been  ac- 
complished. Much  depends  upon  the  spirit  in  which 
a  debate  is  conducted.  It  would  not  be  proper  for 
me  to  express  an  opinion  as  to  the  effects  following  the 
debates  in  which  I  was  engaged.  If  there  ever  was 
a  time  when  debates  on  theological  questions  were 
necessary,  that  time  is  not  now.  One  very  hopeful 
sign  of  the  present  age  is  that  teachers  of  divine 
things  are  lees  inclined  to  keep  in  front  those  points 


188  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

on  which  there  is  known  to  be  differences  of  opinion, 
and  more  inclined  to  magnify  those  great  cardinal 
truths  upon  which  the  majority  are  known  to  agree. 
If  I  do  not  misjudge,  the  spirit  of  the  age  is  tending 
toward  harmony.  There  seems  to  be  a  disposition 
to  gather  around  the  great  cardinals  truths  of  Chris- 
tianity, and  allow  all  the  minor  questions  to  fall  in 
the  rear.  While  I  think  it  is  well  for  each  denomina- 
tion to  express  somewhat  in  detail  its  belief  in  articles 
of  faith,  it  is  not  wise  to  insist  upon  minor  matters. 
The  watchword  of  the  great  spiritual  leaders  of  to-day 
is,  'I  believe  in  God,  the  Father  Almighty,  Maker  of 
heaven  and  earth ;  and  in  Jesus  Christ,  his  only  Son, 
our  Lord;  who  was  crucified,  dead,  and  buried; 
.  .  .  the  third  day  he  ros€f  from  the  dead ;  he  as- 
cended into  heaven,  and  sitteth  on  the  right  hand  of 
God,  the  Father  Almighty ;  from  thence  he  shall  come 
to  judge  the  quick  and  the  dead.'  Here  is  solid  rock, 
upon  which  all  can  stand." 

One  of  these  debates  occurred  near  Elmwood,  Illi- 
nois, in  1872.  It  had  its  origin  in  a  sermon  preached 
at  a  session  of  the  Illinois  Conference  held  in  Ebn- 
wood,  by  Rev.  Joshua  Dunham,  on  the  second  coming 
of  Christ.  Rev.  J.  H.  Snyder  was  pastor  of  the 
United  Brethren  Church  at  that  place.  There  were 
some  Universalist  families  living  in  that  neighbor- 
hood at  that  time,  who  took  exception  to  the  teach- 
ings of  the  sermon,  and  began  to  clamor  for  a  debate. 
Rev.  J.  H.  Snyder  consulted  with  Bishop  Weaver, 
and,  having  privately  secured  his  consent  to  a  dis- 
cussion, he  began  negotiations.     Rev.  Josiah  Davis 


I'ablic  Discussions  189 

was  the  choice  of  the  other  side.  He  was  at  that  time 
regarded  as  the  ablest  defender  of  Universalism  west 
of  the  Alleghenies.  He  had  already  conducted  twenty- 
four  discussions,  and  this  was  the  twenty-fifth  and 
last.  He  was  a  brother  of  Rev.  William  Davis,  at 
one  time  president  of  Otterbein  University,  and  later 
of  Western  College.  Josiah  Davis  began  his  career 
in  the  United  Brethren  Church,  also,  and  at  ouq  time 
was  very  prominent  in  the  Wabash  country.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  General  Conference  of  1841,  and 
was  an  aspirant  for  the  bishop's  office.  He  had,  be- 
fore this,  debated  with  Universalists,  but  finally,  dis- 
appointed in  his  ambitions,  he  went  over  bodily  into 
the  ranks  of  Universalism.  He  had  followed  Bishop 
Weaver  for  three  or  four  years,  urging  him  to  debate 
with  him,  but  the  bishop  did  not  seek  such  contro- 
versy. Davis  had  just  closed  a  controversy  with  a 
Methodist  presiding  elder,  and  delighted  in  this  soi't 
of  work.  He  was  a  pleasant  and  interesting  speaker, 
and  not  unskillful  in  arranging  his  arguments. 
Bishop  Weaver  took  Davis  over  a  route  he  had  not 
before  traveled.  The  question  agreed  upon  was,  "Do 
the  Scriptures  Teach  the  Ultimate  Holiness  and  Hap- 
piness of  All  Men  ?"  Davis  was  to  affirm,  and  Weaver 
deny.  A  little  later  in  the  debate,  the  bishop  threw 
him  on  the  defense  of  Universalism  as  a  system  of 
religion.  The  result  was  the  overthrow  of  this  heresy 
in  that  section  of  the  country. 

The  discussion  was  to  last  four  days.  Bishop  Ed- 
wards was  Bishop  Weaver's  moderator ;  for  two  days 
President  Weston,  of  Lombard  College,  Galesburg, 


190  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

Illinois,  the  other  two  days,  Kev.  John  Hughes,  of 
Tablegrove,  Illinois,  were  Davis's  moderators.  Mr. 
Snyder  wrote  to  the  Agent  of  the  Publishing  House 
an  earnest  request  that  a  reporter  be  sent  to  secure 
a  verhatim  report,  with  a  view  to  the  publication  of 
the  results  in  book  form.  It  would  be  interesting  now 
if  we  had  such  a  volume,  but  the  Agent  did  not  think 
the  outlook  would  justify  the  expense,  and  it  was  not 
done. 

The  night  before  the  discussion,  the  two  bishops 
were  entertained  at  Mr.  Snyder's  house  at  Elmwood. 
Bishop  Edwards  was  known  to  be  rather  opposed  to 
public  debate.  In  this  instance  he  manifested  a  some- 
what fearful  spirit,  as  he  had  evidently  never  heard 
Bishop  Weaver  in  debate,  and  did  not  know  his 
strength  in  discussion.  After  supper,  some  twelve 
or  fifteen  United  Brethren  ministers  dropped  in  for  a 
visit  with  the  bishops,  among  them  Mr.  Dunham, 
l!T.  A.  Walker,  S.  Mills,  and  Isaac  Kretzinger,  all  of 
them  being  well  versed  in  public  religious  discussions. 
At  an  opportune  moment,  Bishop  Weaver  went  to  his 
valise  and  brought  out  a  bundle  of  manuscript,  and 
said,  "I  want  to  read  a  little  to  you."  He  had  written 
out  in  full  his  introductory  speech  and  his  leading 
arguments  on  the  several  doctrinal  subjects  which  en- 
tered into  the  discussion.  These  were  later  thor- 
oughly reviewed  and  published  in  "Universal  Kestora- 
tion." 

The  object  in  this  reading  was  to  obtain  the  moral 
support  of  his  brethren,  and  especially  to  put  confi- 
dence into  Bishop  Edwards.     When  they  saw  the 


Public  Discussions  191 

manuscript,  some  one  said  that  if  the  bishop  intended 
to  depend  on  that,  his  opponent  would  floor  him. 
Bishop  Weaver  would  read  a  while,  bringing  out  his 
strong  points,  and  then  would  turn  to  Bishop  Ed- 
wards and  say,  "Brother  Edwards,  how  will  that  do  ?" 
and  Bishop  Edwards  always  replied,  "That  will  do.'' 
One  hour  was  spent  in  reading.  The  look  of  fear  and 
anxiety  in  the  faces  of  the  brethren  gave  way  to  confi- 
dence and  courage  and  faith  in  the  final  result. 
Bishop  Weaver  then  said,  "Have  you  any  questions 
to  ask  or  any  suggestions  to  make  ?"  Brother  Walker 
said,  "I  suppose  you  know  that  Davis  is  a  Winchester- 
ite,  and  will  make  a  strong  argument  on  that  scrip- 
ture which  speaks  of  'preaching  to  spirits  in  prison'  ?" 
Bishop  Weaver  asked,  somewhat  anxiously,  "Where 
is  that?"  Brother  Walker  turned  to  the  Epistle  of 
Peter  and  read  it.  Bishop  Edwards  asked  Bishop 
Weaver  if  he  was  acquainted  with  that  passage. 
Those  who  heard  his  answer  will  never  forget  their 
feelings  when  he  replied,  "Oh,  yes,  I  know  all  about 
that,"  and  then,  raising  his  hand  and  waving  his  in- 
dex finger,  he  added,  "Brethren,  there  is  not  an  argu- 
ment or  position  taken  by  the  Universalists  that  1 
don't  Icnow."  The  whole  subject  was  dropped  at  this 
point,  and  the  evening  passed  cheerfully.  Bishop 
Weaver  had  won  the  complete  sympathy  and  confi- 
dence of  all  his  brethren,  and  the  results  of  the  dis- 
cussion forever  strengthened  their  confidence. 

The  debate  was  held  in  Paradise  Chapel,  three 
miles  north  of  the  to^^Ti  of  Elmwood.  It  is  a  large 
church,  but  was  crowded  at  every  session.   Two  hours 


l'J2  Biography  of  Jonatlian  Weaver 

of  the  foremoon  and  two  of  the  afternoon  were  occu- 
pied. There  was  preaching  in  the  evening,  the  Uni- 
versalists  occupying  one  evening  and  the  United 
Brethren  the  alternate  one.  There  were  some  thirty 
United  Brethren  preachers  present  to  hear  the  dis- 
cussion. Bishop  Weaver's  first  address  upset  Davis. 
The  bishop,  instead  of  following  Davis  in  the  direct 
negative,  ran  a  counter  affirmative.  After  the  second 
day,  Davis  was  on  the  direct  negative.  At  noon  on 
the  fourth  day,  it  was  suggested  to  the  bishop  to 
reserve  about  ten  minutes  at  the  close  for  an  exhorta- 
tion. When  his  final  review  was  done,  he  turned  to 
the  moderator  and  asked,  "How  much  time  have  I 
yet?"  and  was  answered,  "Eight  minutes."  He 
paused,  and  then  said,  in  substance:  "We  have  now 
come  to  the  end  of  this  discussion.  We  are  all  going 
to  eternity.  How  awfully  solemn  the  reflection.  We 
shall  soon  all  be  there.  I  have  taught  you  the  doctrine 
I  believe.  Christ,  our  salvation,  died  for  us.  All 
who  believe  in  him  shall  live  forever.  All  who  come 
to  him  by  faith  shall  have  a  present  salvation  from 
sin.  They  have  peace  witJi  God.  Believe  in  him,  and 
you  shall  never  die.  When  the  end  comes,  you  may 
say  with  Alfred  Cookman,  'I  go  sweeping  through 
the  gates  into  the  jSTew  Jerusalem.'  I  warn  yon 
against  the  lake  of  fire.  I  tell  you,  friends,  there  is 
danger  of  trifling  with  eternal  things.  God  is  good, 
but  he  is  also  just.  I  cannot  promise  you  eternal  life, 
according  to  Universalism,  but  if  you  obey  the  gospel, 
thank  God,  you  shall  live  forever.  The  city  of  God 
is  open  for  you  now.     You  shall  eat  of  the  tree  of 


Jhiblic  Discussions  193 

life,  in  the  midst  of  the  paradise  of  God ;  and  when 
death-drops  stand  on  your  marble  brow,  you  may  say, 
Tight  breaks  in,'  and  you  shall  meet  the  moving  mil- 
lions, who,  like  a  cloud  of  glory,  are  circling  around 
the  great  white  throne.  In  hope  of  the  joys  of  the 
better  land,  we  say  farewell.  Let  us  sing,  'Praise 
God,  from  whom  all  blessings  flow.'  " 

ISTo  one  can  describe  the  effect  of  that  appeal.  The 
people  arose  to  their  feet,  and  amens  and  shouts  came 
from  all  over  the  house.  Mr.  Davis  looked  as  pale 
as  a  corpsa  A  glorious  victory  for  truth  and  right- 
eousness had  been  won.  The  result  was  the  destruc- 
tion of  Universalism  in  that  community. 

Some  interesting  little  incidents  occurred  during 
the  debate.  Mr.  Davis,  at  one  time  called  Bishop 
Weaver's  presentation  of  his  views  of  truth  "a  bank- 
rupt system."  The  bishop  replied,  "Yes,  we  are  all 
bankrupt;  but  Christ  has  paid  the  debt  and  set  us 
free."  As  they  were  bidding  each  other  good-by,  at 
the  close  of  the  discussion,  Bishop  Weaver  said, 
"Brother  Davis,  I  advise  you  to  take  advantage  of  the 
bankrupt  system." 

At  one  time,  Mr.  Davis  endeavored  to  present  some 
statements  in  Bishop  Weaver's  book  on  the  "Resur- 
rection." The  bishop  answered :  "Brother  Davis  is 
welcome  to  all  he  can  get  out  of  that  book.  I  would 
like  to  sell  about  thirty  copies  here  to-day."  There 
was  no  further  allusion  to  the  book. 

Mr.  Davis,  in  referring  to  the  loss  of  the  wicked, 
said,  "If  Brother  Weaver's  position  is  true,  I  don't 
see  how  he  can  afford  to  be  happy."    Said  the  bishop : 


194  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

"I  can  tell  Brother  Davis  why  we  can  afford  to  be 
happy.  It  is  because  we  have  two  chances.  If  our 
position  is  not  true,  we  have  Universalism  to  fall  back 
on."  At  this  Mr.  Davis  sprang  to  his  feet,  but  made 
no  further  reply. 

Some  two  years  after  this,  this  same  pastor  (Mr. 
Snyder)  suggested  to  Mr.  Davis  another  debate,  but 
he  said  he  had  left  that  work  to  other  hands.  Mr. 
Davis,  we  are  informed,  is  still  living,  in  advanced 
years,  near  Virgil,  Kansas. 

At  the  close  of  the  discussion,  the  United  Brethren 
ministers  present  met  and  adopted  the  following  reso- 
lutions: "We  hereby  tender  our  worthy  Bishop 
Weaver  our  thanks  for  defending  in  an  able  manner 
the  Bible  doctrine  of  endless  punishment,  and  for  the 
valuable  service  he  rendered  the  United  Brethren 
Church.  We  further  express  our  entire  satisfaction 
Avith  the  spirit  and  manner  in  which  he  conducted  this 
discussion  ;  that  he  successfully  met  every  proposition 
affirmed  by  Rev.  Mr.  Davis.  We  also  extend  our 
thanks  to  Bishop  Edwards  for  the  impartial  manner 
in  which  he  presided  as  moderator." 

Bishop  Weaver  had  a  debate  before  this  time,  be- 
fore he  became  a  bishop,  in  the  northeastern  part  of 
the  State  of  Ohio.  The  Universalists  in  that  section 
were  somewhat  aggressive  in  their  methods;  and, 
knowing  that  Bishop  Weaver  was  not  much  of  a 
scholar,  and  presuming  he  was  not  familiar  with  their 
creed,  they  concluded  it  would  be  a  comparatively 
easy  thing  to  hold  him  up  to  the  public  as  not  com- 
petent for  his  place.    So  two  men  of  some  note  in  that 


Public  Discussions  195 

community  pressed  him  to  debate  with  them  on  the 
principles  and  teachings  of  Universalism.  The 
bishop  never  challenged,  but  was  always  the  chal- 
lenged man.  He  hesitated  in  this  case,  but  his 
Church  brethren  urged  him,  as  there  were  several  in 
that  neighborhood  who  inclined  to  that  delusion,  and 
if  he  declined,  it  would  militate  against  him.  He 
finally  consented,  and  arrangements  were  made.  It 
was  agreed  that  the  debate  last  four  days.  After  the 
first  day,  one  man  gave  up.  After  one  speech  on  the 
second  day,  the^  other  man  retired  from  the  contest. 
It  was  reported  that  the  first  man  was  sick,  and  hence 
could  not  go  on ;  but  his  associate  said  he  could  not 
do  anything.  The  second  man  finally  said  to  Bishop 
Weaver,  "You  give  us  a  talk  on  the  immortality  of 
the  soul,  and  we  will  stop  right  here.  I  do  not  intend 
to  carry  this  any  further." 

His  last  debate  on  this  subject  was  near  New  Phila- 
delphia, Ohio',  with  a  Rev.  N.  S.  Sage,  a  scholarly 
man  and  a  good  speaker.  The  discussion  came  about 
as  follows :  Bishop  Weaver  was  well  acquainted  with 
a  Dr.  Otis,  of  that  community,  a  prominent  physi- 
cian and  member  of  the  Lutheran  Church.  Mr.  Sage 
was  a  Universalist  preacher,  who  gave  a  broad  chal- 
lenge to  all  creation,  almost,  for  a  debate  on  his  pet 
theme.  The  ministers  in  Xew  Philadelphia  at  this 
time  were  comparatively  young  men,  and  hesitated 
to  accept  such  a  challenge  from  that  self-appointed 
Goliath  of  Universalism.  The  more  prominent  men 
in  their  respective  churches  dissuaded  them,  fear- 
ing the  result.    Dr.  Otis  knew  Bishop  Weaver  quite 


196  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

well,  and,  having  faith  in  his  ability  to  defend  the 
orthodox  views,  urged  him  to  accept  the  challenge. 
After  considerable  correspondence,  the  bishop 
yielded,  and  agreed  to  undertake  the  debate.  The 
judge  of  the  court  was  selected  as  moderator.  The 
discussion  was  to  continue  four  evenings  and  one  day. 
The  three  evenings  were  occupied,  and  the  next  day 
being  Saturday,  it  was  not  possible  for  the  judge  to 
be  present.  IsTothing  was  done  during  the  day,  and 
the  debate  closed  with  Saturday  night.  It  was  the 
beginning  of  the  end  of  Universalism  in  that  section. 

In  his  contest  with  Mr.  Sage,  Bishop  Weaver 
would  again  and  again  press  the  question  as  to  when 
the  wicked  would  all  be  converted.  The  doctrine  of 
the  Universalists  asserted  that  they  all  would  be.  Mr. 
Sage's  friends  grew  a  little  restive  under  the  galling 
fire,  and  complained.  The  bishop  knew  a  young 
lawyer  in  town  who  was  not  a  Christian.  So,  one  day, 
he  said  to  him,  "You  are  skilled  in  the  presentation 
of  arguments  before  the  court,  and  you  have  listened 
to  me  in  these  debates ;  do  you  think  I  am  unfair  in 
pressing  this  question?"  "]!To,"  said  the  lawyer, 
"that 's  just  the  thing  we  fellows  want  to  know.  I 
think  it  is  right  to  make  them  tell  it." 

Some  six  months  after  this  debate,  Bishop  Weaver 
and  Mr.  Sage  met  in  Fort  Wayne,  Indiana,  and 
greeted  each  other  pleasantly.  Mr.  Sage  was  on  his 
way  West  to  preach.  He  said  to  the  bishop,  "I  did 
not  know  you  before  we  met  to  debate ;  if  I  had,  the 
debate  would  not  have  occurred."  Some  years  later, 
Mr.  Sage  came  back  to  New  Philadelphia  as  a  minis- 


Public  Discussions  197 

ter  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  united 
with  the  Pittsburg  Conference.  The  man  who  intro- 
duced him  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Conference 
said,  "The  theological  drubbing  which  Kev.  J. 
Weaver  gave  Mr.  Sage,  some  years  ago,  made  a 
Methodist  preacher  out  of  him." 

In  the  Tuscarawas  Advocate,  dated  September  23, 
1886,  there  appeared  the  following  item:  "Rev. 
N.  S.  Sage,  who  was  a  prominent  figure  in  the  N'orth 
Ohio  Conference  at  Canal  Dover  during  the  past 
week,  is  the  former  apostle  of  Universalism  who  is 
so  well  known  in  tbis  city  in  connection  with  the  fa- 
mous debate  held  here,  many  years  ago,  between  him 
and  Bishop  J.  Weaver,  of  the  United  Brethren 
Church.  It  was  stated  in  the  conference  on  Tuesday 
morning  that  the  logical  drubbing  which  Mr.  Sage 
received  on  that  memorable  occasion  was  the  means  of 
opening  his  eyes  to  the  truths  of  orthodoxy,  and  after- 
wards led  to  his  conversion  to  Methodism.  This  seems 
to  be  one  of  the  few  cases  we  hear  of  alteration  from 
a  standard  to  a  narrow-gage." 

Dr.  H.  J.  Becker,  now  residing  in  Dayton,  Ohio, 
then  an  unconverted  man,  was  stopping  in  New  Phila- 
delphia, having  some  bills  printed,  at  the  time  of  this 
debate.  He  says :  "I  beard  of  the  battle  of  the  doc- 
trines, and  distinctly  remembered  the  name  of  the 
bishop,  and  can  recall  some  of  the  remarks  made  at 
the  hotel.  The  'boys'  feared  that  Mr.  Sage  was  not 
enough  for  Bishop  Weaver,  and  that  the  doctrine  of 
'calorics'  was  orthodox  after  all." 

It   is   reported    on   good    authority   that   Bishop 


198  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

Weaver  was  invited  to  remain  over  Sabbath  and 
preach  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  which  he 
consented  to  do.  At  the  close  of  the  sermon,  Kev.  Mr. 
Ball,  the  pastor,  arose  and  said  to  the  audience: 
"Brother  Weaver  has  done  a  great  and  good  work  in 
this  community  by  reason  of  presenting  arguments 
against  Universalism  which  all  the  Universalists  this 
side  of  hell  cannot  answer,  and  I  want  you  to  show 
your  appreciation  of  his  work  by  giving  a  liberal  con- 
tribution to  his  support."  A  collection  of  sevemty- 
five  dollars  was  lifted,  which  was  considered  unusu- 
ally liberal. 

Rev.  J.  G.  Baldwin  says:  "It  was  my  privilege 
to  attend  a  debate  he  once  had  with  a  Universalist 
minister  in  Canaan,  Wayne  County,  Ohio.  His  first 
speech  drove  his  opponent  into  restorationism,  and 
for  three  days  and  evenings  there  was  as  complete  a 
floundering  as  was  ever  seen  in  a  theological  battle. 
The  preacher  said  himself  that  he  was  no  match  for 
Bishop  W^eaver.  I  remember,  on  one  occasion,  when 
we  were  both  attending  a  meeting  of  the  board  of 
trustees  of  Otterbein  University,  business  was  a  little 
dull  one  day,  and  the  bishop  came  and  sat  down  by 
my  side  and  asked,  ^Baldwin,  what  do  you  think  when 
you  think  about  nothing  V  I  answered,  'I  think  of 
your  debate  with  Binns,  the  Universalist.'  'That  's 
so,'  he  said,  and  was  greatly  amused  at  the  retort" 

These  same  two  men,  Baldwin  and  Weaver,  were 
in  Alliance,  Ohio,  one  day,  walking  up  and  down  the 
platform  waiting  for  a  train.  A  well-dressed  stran- 
ger followed  them,  and  finally,  stepping  forward, 


Pvhlic  Discussions  199 

asked  the  bishop  if  he  were  Rev.  Mr.  Weaver. 
The  bishop  answered,  "I  am  called  that  sometimes." 
The  stranger  then  said,  "I  am  a  Disciple  minister, 
and  should  like  to  ask  if  you  would  debate  the  ques- 
tion of  baptism  with  some  one  that  I  might  select  ?" 
Bishop  Weaver,  in  rather  a  comical  manner,  stretched 
himself  to  his  full  height,  and  replied,  "Certainly; 
I  am  a  little  like  a  lightning-rod,  always  ready  for  a 
crack."  The  gentleman  looked  at  him  in  amazement 
for  a  short  time,  and  then  walked  away  without  an- 
other word.  The  reference  to  lightning  may  have 
frightened  him,  as  the  debate  never  materialized. 

He  did  have  three  debates  with  the  Disciples,  or 
Campbellites,  as  some  call  them,  on  the  mode,  sub- 
jects, and  designs  of  Christian  baptism.  It  is  the 
opinion  of  the  writer  that  all  these  occurred  before  he 
was  elected  bishop.  One  of  these  occurred  near 
Beach  City,  another  not  far  from  Woost©r,  and  the 
third  near  Sandyville,  Ohio.  These  all  awakened  con- 
siderable interest,  especially  the  last,  in  which  a  Mr. 
Moss  was  the  contestant.  There  was  a  Disciple 
Church  at  this  place,  with  a  large  membership.  The 
Methodists,  who  were  located  here,  opened  the  way 
for  the  debate.  Two  days  were  given  to  each  subject, 
making  six  in  all.  Some  years  later.  Bishop  Weaver 
was  invited  to  return  to  preach  in  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church.  He  went,  and  found  it  a  fine  new 
church.  Some  of  the  members  told  him  this  church 
was  the  result  of  his  debate. 

During  one  of  these  discussions,  a  disputant  whom, 
because  we  do  not  know  his  name,  we  shall  call  Mr.  A, 


200  Biography  of  Jonathan  "Weaver 

was  aiming  to  show  from  the  original  Greek,  as  well 
as  from  common  use,  the  meaning  of  "immerse^"  as 
he  understood  it,  and  said  he  could  prove  his  position 
from  Bishop  Weaver's  own  use  of  the  word,  claim- 
ing that  when  they  were  canvassing  a  time  that  would 
be  most  convenient  for  them  to  hold  the  debate,  the 
bishop  declined  to  come  at  a  certain  time,  alleging 
he  was  so  immersed  in  business  and  other  duties  that 
he  could  not  come.  When  Bishop  Weaver  came  to 
reply,  he  said :  "True,  I  did  write  Mr.  A  that  I  was 
immersed  in  business;  but  I  was  not  immersed  in 
his  sense.  I  did  not  go  down  into  the  business;  ii 
came  down  upon  me/' 

Bishop  Weaver  possessed  several  qualities  which 
made  him  a  good  controversialist,  among  them  we 
may  mention : 

1.  His  perfect  self-composure.  He  was  never 
rattled,  ne"\''er  thrown  off  his  balance,  always  fair  to 
his  opponent,  and  sweet  in  his  temper  and  manner. 
The  following  story  is  told  by  Bishop  Edwards: 
"Some  strictures  had  been  made  upon  an  article  writ- 
ten for  the  press  by  Bishop  Markwood.  In  replying 
to  it.  Bishop  Markwood  used  some  stormy  phrases, 
accompanied  with  some  trifling  and  sarcastic  re- 
marks. Bishop  Weaver,  then  a  young  bishop,  wrote 
a  reply  under  an  assumed  name,  taking  the  very 
proper  position  that  the  bishops  should  be  more  care- 
ful in  their  published  productions,  and  should  not 
give  anything  to  the  press  which  would  not  comport 
with  their  own  dignified  position,  or  which  would 
reflect  on  the  good  name  of  the  Church,    Bishop  Ed- 


Public  Discussions  201 

wards  did  not  approve  of  this  quiet  rebuke  admin- 
istered to  Brother  Markwood,  and  so  sought  to  find 
the  author.  After  several  failures,  he,  one  day,  ac- 
costed Bishop  Weaver,  saying,  in  an  inquiring  tone, 
''Jonathan,  did  you  write  that  article  concerning 
Markwood  ?"  He  finally  confessed  that  he  did.  Ed- 
wards in  relating  this  story  afterwards,  said,  "I  just 
took  off  my  gloves  and  gave  him  a  good  talking  to; 
just  what  he  deserved."  The  listener,  anxious  to 
know  what  effect  this  had  on  Bishop  Weaver,  in- 
quired, "Did  it  make  him  mad  ?"  "No,"  said 
Edwards,  as  if  in  a  disappointed  tone,  "he  is 
the  best-natured.  man  I  ever  saw.  You  cannot 
make  him  angry."  Kor  could  his  opponent  in  a 
debate. 

2.  He  thoroughly  believed  what  he  sought  to 
teach.  He  was  conscious  he  was  on  the  side  of  truth. 
He  sought  to  get  to  the  very  foundation  of  truth. 
There  were  some  questions  on  which  he  had  not  yet 
come  to  a  positive  conclusion ;  but  when  he  did  come 
to  a  conclusion  he  had  a  reason  for  the  faith  that  was 
in  him.  He  thoroughly  prepared  himself  for  the 
undertaking  by  seeking  to  answer  his  own  arguments, 
and  if  he  could  not,  he  had  a  reasonable  hope  that 
others  would  not  be  able  to  do  so. 

3.  He  also  thoroughly  studied  the  side  of  his  op- 
ponent. He  knew  both  sides  of  the  question.  He 
knew  as  well  beforehand  what  his  opponent  must  say 
as  he  did  after  he  had  spoken.  It  was  not  mere  boast- 
ing when  he  asserted  that  there  was  not  an  argument 
to  be  adduced  in  favor  of  Universalism  that  he  had 


202  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

not  examined.    Thus  thoroughly  fortified,  there  were 
no  surprises  in  store  for  him. 

4,  He  had  an  abundance  of  incidents  and  illustra- 
tions which  would  help  to  make  plainer  his  argument. 
Thej  would  help,  also,  to  interest  his  audience,  re- 
lieve, at  times,  the  logical  tension,  and  keep  him  in 
closer  touch  with  his  hearers. 

5.  His  quickness  at  repartee,  combined  with  a 
happy  delivery,  made  him  an  interesting  speaker. 
The  rich  vein  of  humor  running  through  his  nature 
served  him  to  good  purpose*  His  was  always  the  "re- 
tort courteous,"  but  was,  nevertheless,  amusing.  He 
compelled  even  those  not  in  sympathy  with  his  teach- 
ings to  respect  his  fairness  and  courtesy. 

In  his  earlier  history,  he  found  these  debates  to  be 
the  best  mental  drill  he  had  ever  gone  through  with 
up  to  that  time.  He  was  compelled  to  study,  not  one 
side  alone,  but  both  sides  of  a  question.  This  made 
him  fairer  in  his  judgments,  helped  him  to  put  him- 
self in  place  of  another  and  see  truth  as  the  other  saw 
it.  It  helped  him  to  think  on  his  feet,  and  to  face 
an  audience  without  trembling.  He  honored  his 
Church,  and  made  it  better  known  to  many.  It  helped 
to  make  him  an  excellent  presiding  oflScer,  who  sought 
to  deal  fairly  with  all  and  to  oppress  none. 


CHAPTEK  XII. 
Third  Election  as  Bishop — 1873. 

The  sixteenth  General  Conference  met  in  Dayton, 
Ohio,  May  15,  1873.  One  hundred  and  twenty-five 
delegates  had  been  elected.  During  the  previous 
four  years,  the  membership  had  been  increased 
over  seventeen  thousand,  making  the  entire  mem- 
bership at  this  time  over  one  himdred  and  twenty- 
five  thousand.  The  conference  was,  in  the  main, 
quite  conservative,  and  yet  some  radical  steps  were 
taken.  The  address  of  welcome  was  made  by  Rev. 
C.  Briggs,  the  pastor  of  the  First  Church,  and 
Bishop  Weaver  was  chosen  to  reply,  which  he  did, 
in  part,  after  the  following  fashion :  '^e  have  come 
here  to  greet  each  other  and  the  kind  Christian  peo- 
ple of  this  city ;  and  you  may  be  sure  that  up  to  this 
moment,  as  far  as  I  have  the  means  of  knowing,  we 
feel  ourselves  wonderfully  at  home.  If  we  needed 
any  proof  at  all  of  your  hospitality,  or  if  we  had 
needed  any,  it  would  be  altogether  at  hand  just  now ; 
for  we  have  already  sat  by  your  hearths,  and  warmed 
by  your  fires,  and  slept  in  your  beds,  and  ate  at  your 
tables;  and  if  ministers  are  not  judges  of  these 
things,  I  should  like  to  know  where  you  would  find 
them,"  etc. 

Later  during  the  session,  Rev.  B.  W.  Chidlaw,  the 


204  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

veteran  Sunday-school  worker,  who  for  years  repre- 
sented the  American  Sunday-School  Union,  spoke 
very  cheeringly  of  the  good  work  the  Church  was 
doing  in  this  direction,  and  the  help  our  members 
gave  him.  Bishop  Weaver  was  selected  to  respond 
to  this  address,  which  he  did,  as  follows:  "I  would 
say,  brethren,  that  I  have  always  counted  myself  a 
miserable  platform  speaker.  I  can  make  just  as  good 
a  speech  on  the  platform  as  any  man,  if  I  only  know 
just  what  to  say.  That  is  always  in  my  way.  I  think, 
however,  I  ought  to  say,  in  behalf  of  these  Christian 
men,  these  delegates  representing  the  United  Breth- 
ren Church  from  all  over  the  land,  that  we  are  in  the 
field.  We  went  out  into  the  field  a  good  while  ago, 
and  we  are  in  the  field  now,  and  there  we  intend  to 
stay  and  fight  it  out  on  this  line.  I  am  happy  to  say 
that  in  this  great,  good,  and  blessed  work,  to  which 
reference  was  made  by  our  good  brother,  we  are 
heartily  with  them  in  that  department  of  work,  and 
our  mission  shall  be,  to  gather  in  all  the  youth  of 
this  land,  as  far  as  it  is  possible,  under  the  influence 
of  our  Sabbath-school  work,  and  thereby  win  many, 
very  many  of  these  to  Jesus  Christ  I  unite  with 
that  brother  in  bidding  God-speed  to  everything  that 
has  for  its  object  the  gathering  in  of  our  youth  to  the 
fold  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

He  was,  by  turns,  one  of  the  presiding  officers  of 
the  Conference,  and  was  not  so>  much  accustomed  to 
talking,  unless  on  questions  concerning  which  he  had 
special  information,  or  to  help  out  of  difficulties.  He 
had  none  of  that  itch  which  puts  men  on  the  floor  to 


Third  Election  as  Bishop  205 

hear  themselves  talk.  He  spoke  on  the  proposition  to 
make  Parkersburg  a  self-sustaining  conference  after 
two  years,  for  he  had  learned  something  of  their  con- 
dition during  the  last  four  years:  "They  have  a 
membership  of  five  thousand,  it  is  true,  but  it  is  not 
like  the  same  membership  north,  east,  or  west.  The 
people  are  poor,  very  poor.  You  are  not  prepared  to 
judge  of  their  circumstances  unless  you  have  visited 
them  among  the  hills  and  mountains.  It  has  been 
difficult  to  keep  in  the  field  some  of  the  very  best  men 
that  are  there.  There  are  half  a  dozen  now  just  on 
the  point  of  leaving.  They  say  they  cannot  stand  it 
any  longer.  They  are  earnest  and  faithful  workers, 
but  have  families  dependent  upon  them  for  support, 
and  receive  one  hundred  dollars,  sometimes  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  dollars  a  year.  I  have  no  sympathy 
for  Parkersburg  that  I  have  not  for  any  other  confer- 
ence, but  I  know  how  they  are  circumstanced.  They 
have  not  yet  recovered  from  the  effects  of  the  Re- 
bellion." 

The  matter  of  lay  delegation  was  one  of  the  sub- 
jects which  came  before  this  Conference.  There  was 
nothing  in  the  constitution  of  the  Church  to  prevent 
lay  delegates  in  the  annual  conferences,  provided  the 
General  Conference  was  willing  to  order  it,  but  lay 
delegates  could  not  be  admitted  to  the  General  Con- 
ference except  by  a  change  of  the  general  plan  of  gov- 
ernment. In  the  Conference  of  1869,  a  standing  com- 
mittee was  appointed  on  this  subject,  but  its  report 
was  voted  down  by  fifty-five  to  thirty-two,  mainly  on 
the  ground  that  there  was  no  special  desire  for  it  on 


206  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

the  part  ol  the  laity,  but  mostly,  we  take  it,  because 
the  older  men  believed  that  ecclesiastical  power  prop- 
erly belonged  to  the  ministry.  A  report  was  made 
providing  for  a  change  of  constitution,  and  for  the 
election  of  delegates,  and  it  was  earnestly  and  vig- 
orously discussed.  It  was  agreed  to  submit  a  change 
of  constitution,  so  as  to  secure  this  result,  and  Bishop 
Weaver  voted  for  it.  He  had  always  been  an  advo- 
cate of  lay  representation.  The  plan  provided  for 
its  adoption,  if  two-thirds  of  those  voting  on  the  ques- 
tion were  friendly  to  it.  It  was  asserted,  however, 
that  there  should  be  no  alteration  of  the  constitution, 
except  by  request  of  two-thirds  of  the  whole  Church. 
The  question  as  to  what  was  meant  by  "two-thirds'' 
was  referred  to  the  bishops,  who  were  a  tie  in  this 
vote,  and  no  conclusion  was  reached ;  so  the  plan  for 
lay  delegates  at  that  time  failed. 

Another  revision  of  the  Discipline  was  proposed, 
which  provided  that  the  ministers  in  charge  who 
found  members  of  the  Church  members  of  a  secret 
society,  should  erase  their  names,  thereby  dismissing 
them  from  the  Church  without  a  vote  of  the  class. 
This  was  on  the  supposition  that  the  membership 
might  be  divided  in  sentiment,  and  might  hesitate  to 
vote  for  expulsion,  but  that  the  pastor  would  be  more 
likely  to  carry  out  the  rule  of  the  Discipline.  This 
proposition  elicited  no  little  opposition,  as  being  un- 
American  in  nature  and  unjust  in  its  effects.  It  was 
finally  passed  by  a  vote  of  seventy  to  thirty-one, 
Bishop  Weaver  voting  against  it.  We  are  of  the 
opinion  that  this  law  was  unjust  in  its  operation,  and 


Third  Election  as  Bishop  207 

did  not  a  little  to  lead  to  the  unrest  which  finally  re- 
sulted in  disintegration. 

Late  in  the  session,  a  committee  on  pro  rata  repre- 
sentation made  report.  It  was  moved  to  amend  this 
to  say  that  each  conference  shall  have  two  clerical 
delegates  and  one  layman.  Dr.  Garst  moved  to  so 
amend  as  to  say,  "Equal  lay  and  ministerial  dele- 
gates," one  for  every  two  thousand  members.  On  this 
proposition,  Bishop  Weaver  was  recorded  in  the  nega- 
tive. 

It  was  voted  to  celebrate  1874  as  a  centennial  year, 
1774  being  the  year  in  which  the  first  independent 
congregation  was  founded  at  Baltimore  by  William 
Otterbein.  The  bishops  were  appointed  a  committee 
on  centennial  interests. 

Bishop  Weaver  was  appointed  "to  classify  and  ar- 
range the  subject  matter  of  the  book  of  Discipline, 
and  submit  it  to  the  Board  of  Bishops  for  approval 
during  the  ensuing  quadrennial  term ;  and  that  this 
Board  present  the  same  to  the  next  General  Confer- 
ence for  ratification  or  rejection." 

In  his  personal  remarks  at  the  close  of  the  Confer- 
ence, he  says :  "I  have  been  at  work  in  my  own  way 
in  this  Church  twenty-eight  years.  I  have  not  been 
local  an  hour  in  all  those  years.  I  have  not  done  the 
work  as  well,  to  be  sure,  as  some  others  might  have 
done  it,  but,  in  my  own  way,  I  have  been  engaged 
in  it  during  this  time;  and  I  feel  willing  to-night  to 
continue  in  this  work.  I  expect  to  continue  to  labor 
for  Christ  in  some  way  as  long  as  I  have  strength  to 
do  so.    I  want  to  say  to  the  brethren  who  represent, 


208  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

on  this  floor,  the  district  I  have  been  traveling  for 
four  yeai-s  past,  that  I  think  it  due  them  that  I  should 
say  in  a  public  way,  I  thank  you,  and  also  the  con- 
ferences you  represent,  for  the  kindness  you  have 
shown  me  from  the  first  to  the  last.  I  shall  leave  this 
district  with  the  kindest  feelings  toward  every  min- 
ister and  every  member  of  it.  So  far  as  I  know  in 
my  heart,  while  among  you  I  have  received  encour- 
agement, not  only  of  heart,  but  of  a  substantial 
nature;  and  I  want  it  to  be  recorded  in  the  thoughts 
and  hearts  of  the  friends  constituting  these  confer- 
ences, that  I  return  to  you  my  most  sincere  thanks, 
after  the  four  years  past.  And  in  regard  to  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Ohio  District,  I  have  no  other  thought 
than  to  meet  you  as  colaborers  in  this  good  cause,  that 
we  may  unitedly  send  to  heaven  earnest,  fervent 
prayers  for  God's  blessing  upon  the  work  intrusted  to 
our  hands." 

At  this  conference,  the  bishops  were  reelected, 
Weaver  for  the  third  time.  He  received  eighty  votes, 
Edwards  eighty-two,  Dickson  sixty-eight,  and  Gloss- 
brenner  sixty-three.  Edwards  was  assigned  to  the 
East  District,  Weaver  to  the  Ohio  District,  Dickson  to 
the  East  Mississippi,  and  Glossbrenner  to  the  West 
Mississippi.  Bishop  Weaver's  territory  comprised 
the  following  conferences :  Scioto,  Sandusky,  Miami, 
Auglaize,  Ohio  German,  Michigan,  Canada,  North 
Ohio,  Western  Reserve — nine  in  all. 

In  June,  he  appears  in  the  Telescope  with  an  ar- 
ticle, entitled,  "Moving,"  showing  its  advantages  and 
disadvantages.     Just  then  he  was  packing  up  his 


Third  Election  as  Bishop  209 

goods  to  move  from  Baltimore  to  Dayton.  Later, 
there  appeared  articles,  entitled,  ^'In  Union  There  la 
Strength,"  "Power  in  Religion,"  and  also  a  vigorous 
appeal  for  donations  of  books  for  the  Union  Biblical 
Seminary  library.  July  30,  he  writes  a  letter  to  an 
anti-secret  society,  which  was  published  in  the  Tele- 
scope of  August  20 :  "Let  Christians  be  content  out- 
side of  the  lodgo-room.  It  is  enough  for  them  to 
know  and  feel  that  they  are  members  of  a  brotherhood 
that  takes  in  all  the  pure  and  good;  a  brotherhood 
of  loving  hearts,  baptized  by  one  Spirit  into  one  body ; 
a  brotherhood  whose  Elder  Brother  has  gone  to  pre- 
pare them  a  homa" 

He  held  Miami  Conference,  August  13,  at  Ar- 
canum, Ohio;  Sandusky,  September  3,  at  Osceola, 
Ohio;  Scioto,  at  Pataskala,  Ohio,  September  10;  and 
Western  Eeserve,  September  17,  at  Newman's  Creek, 
Chapel,  Ohio;  and  the  others  in  their  order.  Then 
came  another  appeal  for  the  Seminary,  whose  faith- 
ful friend  he  always  was  to  the  day  of  his  death. 
"That  Prayer  of  the  Prophet,"  "O  Lord,  Revive 
Thy  Work,"  "He  Lived  for  Others,"  "On  the  Death 
of  John  Howard" — these  articles,  with  the  dedica- 
tion of  First  Church,  Dayton,  Ohio,  closed  his  labors 
for  1873. 

It  had  been  decided  that  1874  should  be  observed 
as  a  centenary  year,  so  early  in  January  there  came 
an  article  from  his  pen,  entitled  "Our  Centenary 
Year,"  and  another  on  "Church  Building,"  in  which 
he  said  that  it  is  easier  to  raise  money  for  a  church 
before  it  is  built  than  afterward.     Another  article 


210  biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

appeared,  asking  for  larger  contributions.  Then  the 
following  articles:  ''The  Atonement" — the  leading 
truth  of  Christianity;  "More  of  Christ";  "Stopping 
Over" — thoughts  that  came  to  him  while  waiting  for 
a  train;  "Who  Shall  KoU  Away  the  Stone?"  we 
must  not  be  deterred  from  doing  our  duty  because 
there  are  difficulties  in  the  way;  "How  Is  It?" 
no  excuse  or  apology  for  Christians  who  indulge  in 
saying  hard  things.  May  13,  he  made  an  address  to 
the  graduating  class  of  Union  Biblical  Seminary; 
held  Ohio  German  Conference,  March  12,  at  Dan- 
ville, Illinois ;  held  Ontario  Conference  at  Gainsboro, 
Ontario,  May  7. 

He  reports  for  the  year  1873:  Appointments, 
1,032 ;  organized  churches,  844 ;  membership,  34,947, 
an  increase  during  the  year  of  1,026;  total  money 
collected,  $206,877.49. 

Later  in  the  year,  he  wrote  an  article  on  "Law 
Principles,"  in  which  he  takes  exception  to  an  edi- 
torial by  Editor  Wright  reflecting  on  the  Ohio  Dis- 
trict, which  Bishop  Weaver  was  then  serving:  "ITo 
man,  living  or  dead,  ever  heard  me  say  a  word  in  fa- 
vor of  secret  societies.  Yet,  because  I  may  not  inter- 
pret every  item  of  law  just  as  the  editor  does,  the  im-f 
plied  charge  of  insubordination,  rebellion,  usurpation, 
treason,  self-conceit,  inactivity,  and  dodges  is  laid  at 
my  door.  If  a  brother  finds  it  in  his  heart  to  use 
such  language,  he  is  at  perfect  liberty  to  do  so.  I  shall 
not  complain."  The  skirmishing  which  led  to  the 
final  contest  had  already  commenced. 

He  held  his  usual  conferences  belonging  to  the 


Third  Election  as  Bishop  211 

Ohio  District,  and  found  time  to  furnish  some  articles 
for  the  Church  paper.  ''Money"  appears  first;  "Is 
Life  a  Dream  ?" — many  act  as  if  they  thought  so ; 
"Hereafter" — things  there  will  seem  strangely  dif- 
ferent from  what  they  do  now;  "Watchman,  What 
of  the  Night?"  closes  the  year;  from  the  human 
standpoint  the  night  is  long  and  dark,  but  the  day  is 
dawning. 

The  first  issue  of  1875  contains  an  article  on  "Ec- 
clesiastical Tests,"  in  which  he  asks  the  question.  Can 
a  church  establish  a  test  of  membership,  by  which  to 
exclude  from  her  communion  any  whom  she  recog- 
nizes as  Christians?  which  question  he  answers  af- 
firmatively. Later,  comes  "An  Idea,"  in  which  he 
shows  we  should  not  be  men  simply  of  one  idea.  In 
May,  he  starts  West  to  visit  the  conferences  on  the 
Coast,  and  writes  a  few  letters,  which  he  entitles 
"Here  a  Little  and  There  a  Little."  In  the  first  one 
he  says :  "We  are  now  more  than  a  thousand  miles 
west  from  Omaha,  and  I  have  seen  only  one  person 
reading  the  Bible;  yet  we  have  on  board  more  than 
a  score  of  members  of  church.  There  is  one  man 
from  Philadelphia  who  is  a  member  of  a  popular 
church.  He  can  play  cards,  read  novels,  and  talk 
religion  all  in  the  same  hour;  and  there  sits  a  min- 
ister who  just  at  this  moment  said  he  had  drank  only 
two  glasses  of  lager  beer  since  he  left  ITew  York. 
Some  people  have  a  powerful  sight  of  religion  at 
home,  but  when  away  from  home  they  have  none 
worth  speaking  of.  A  gentleman  on  the  train,  who 
hails  from  a  city  in  Indiana,  stated  that  the  best  danc- 


212  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

ers  in  that  city  were  members  of  church.  He  is  him- 
self a  member  of  church,  and  thinks  that  dancing  and 
theater-going  are  all  right.  It  seems  to  me  the  devil 
is  getting  looser  and  looser  all  the  time.  The  time 
has  come  when  Methodists,  Presbyterians,  Baptists, 
and  United  Brethren  will  apologize  for  almost  any 
sin  under  the  heavens." 

He  writes  at  some  length  concerning  his  visit.  The 
churches  seem  to  him  very  formal :  "The  people  are 
drunken  with  the  love  of  pleasure ;  church  fairs  and 
festivals  are  kept  up  more  closely  than  prayer-  and 
class-meetings.  At  these  gatherings  they  will  talk, 
eat,  drink,  and  dance,  and  at  the  close  will  gather  up 
the  proceeds  and  give  them  to  their  preacher." 

The  California  Conference  met  at  Fairview,  sev- 
enty-five miles  from  Sacramento;  tliirteen  ministers 
were  present.  He  spoke  of  the  mirages  which  he  saw, 
and  pronounced  them  the  most  perfect  optical  il- 
lusions he  had  ever  met.  He  had  six  hundred  miles 
to  travel  to  Philomath,  where  the  Oregon  Conference 
was  to  sit  He  went  almost  one  hundred  miles  by 
railway,  and  then  three  hundred  by  stage.  Confer- 
ence was  held  May  21,  and  fourteen  ministers  were 
present.  From  here  he  went  to  Walla  Walla.  The 
Board  of  Missions  had  ordered  this  conference  to  be 
dissolved;  but  there  were  some  alienations  which 
made  it  diflBcult  to  proceed.  The  camp-meeting  ar- 
ranged for  being  over,  he  took  the  stage  for  Kelton, 
Utah,  some  five  hundred  miles  away.  He  had  been 
over  the  road  once  before,  and  the  outlook  did  not 
look  pleasing;  but  there  was  no  other  way.     Having 


Third  Election  as  Bishop  213 

gone  thirty-five  miles,  he  was  compelled  to  wait  sev- 
enteen hours,  which  did  not  add  to  his  comfort.  He 
had  planned  to  reach  home  by  July  25. 

Speaking  of  Kelton,  where  he  had  been  delayed  so 
long,  he  says:  "It  is  the  hardest  place  I  ever  saw, 
and  next  to  the  hardest  place  I  ever  read  of.  It 
hardly  seems  possible  that  human  beings  could  get  as 
low  down  as  they  seem  here.  .  .  .  You  gave  me 
[he  says  to  Kelton]  a  poor  dinner,  a  wretched  supper, 
and  a  bed  that  was  at  least  ten  inches  too  short,  and 
made  me  pay  three  dollars  in  pure  silver  for  my 
miserable  comfort.  I  wish  you  no  harm,  only  I  trust 
that  the  miserable  vermin,  the  name  of  which  must 
never  be  mentioned  in  polite  society,  may  gather  upon 
your  carcasses  as  they  did  upon  mine,  and  drain  your 
life  current  until  they  shall  raise  you  from  your  bed 
for  the  sixth  time.    That  is  the  way  they  served  me." 

The  Telescope  for  June  30  reports  him  at  home 
and  in  good  health.  The  great  need  of  the  West  he 
found  to  be  more  men,  consecrated  men.  The  Board 
of  Missions  is  not  able  to  send  half  as  many  men  as 
should  go.  He  adds  this  statement:  "It  does  seem 
that  when  men  consent  to  go  West  as  missionaries, 
many  of  them  do  not  more  than  get  across  the  Mis- 
souri Kiver  until  they  are  seized  with  the  notion  that 
they  must  make  money.  The  result  is,  they  are  di- 
vided in  their  interests,  and  are  not  more  than  half 
men  in  the  ministry.  The  ministry  is  our  work.  It 
takes  a  whole  man  to  make  a  minister." 

He  reported  for  the  Ohio  District,  1874:  Ap- 
pointments, 1,033  ;   organized  churches,  943  ;   mem- 


214  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

bers,  36,687 ;  increase  during  the  year,  1,740 ;  total 
collected  for  all  purposes,  $233,700.04.  For  the  Pa- 
cific Coast  District:  Appointments,  110;  organized 
churches,  65  ;  members,  1,444,  an  increase  of  30 ;  col- 
lected for  all  purposes,  $8,469.26. 

He  held  his  fall  conferences  as  usual,  and  so  closed 
another  year.  The  report  for  the  Ohio  District  for 
the  year  1875,  rendered  some  months  later,  gives  this 
result:  Appointments,  1,082;  organized  churches, 
939;  members,  37,780;  increase  during  year,  1,376; 
collected  for  all  purposes,  $216,351.93. 

Early  in  1876,  he  takes  up  his  pen  to  aid  the  Tele- 
scope. "Not  Yet — By  and  By,"  gives  him  occasion  to 
say  there  will  be  a  by  and  by,  and  when  He  shall  ap- 
pear we  shall  be  like  him.  iSText,  "As  Tar  as  Beth- 
any" ;  "Martha"  proves  to  be  a  defense  of  this  mis- 
understood disciple.  "Eeflections,"  an  inquiry  as  to 
what  will  probably  be  the  first  impression  upon  the 
soul  when  it  passes  the  boundary  line  between  time 
and  eternity.  "Thinking — Thought,"  enforces  the 
duty  of  thinking  for  ourselves. 

His  conferences  were  held  as  follows :  Miami,  at 
Vandalia,  July  19 ;  Auglaize,  at  ^New  Philadelphia, 
August  23 ;  N'orth  Ohio,  at  DeKalb  County,  Indiana, 
August  28 ;  Erie,  at  Pleasantville,  September  13 ; 
Michigan,  at  Beach  City,  September  20;  Scioto,  at 
Mt.  Hermon  Church,  October  4;  White  Eiver,  at 
West  Canaan,  October  11.  A  few  Telescope  articles, 
such  as,  "What  Next  ?"  an  inquiry  as  to  what  we  may 
next  look  for  in  the  effort  of  the  Church  to  ape  the 
follies  of  the  times,  and  another  on  "Unity,"  the 


Third  Election  as  Bishop  215 

great  want  of  the  age,  and  the  year  closes.  Later,  a 
few  more  communications  appear.  Parkersburg 
Conference  is  held  at  Bachtel  Chapel,  March  14, 
1877;  Canada,  at  Freeport,  April  19;  and  another 
General  Conference  is  here. 

Before  the  close  of  1876,  he  was  in  Summit 
County,  Ohio,  attending  a  dedication,  but  did  not 
reach  the  depot  in  time  to  take  the  train  south.  The 
agent  told  him  to  go  to  Cleveland,  and  he  could  reach 
Dayton  about  as  soon.  When  he  reached  Cleveland, 
he  was  informed  that  he  had  nine  and  a  half  hours  to 
wait.  "I  was  not  angry,  but  felt  a  strange  warmth 
in  the  region  of  my  heart  or  liver;  perhaps  it  was 
what  tliey  call  heart-burn." 

While  waiting  here,  he  had  time  to  think  of  his 
first  circuit:  "It  took  in  this  city  and  all  the  region 
round  about.  It  was  two  hundred  miles  around,  with 
seventeen  appointments  and  twenty-three  members, 
all  told.  I  traveled  on  horseback,  for  there  were  no 
railroads,  and  the  roads  were  too  bad  for  a  buggy. 
Some  one  asks,  'Why  in  the  world  did  you  not  re- 
sign ?'  Why,  bless  you,  at  that  time  I  did  not  know 
that  a  man  dare  do  such  a  thing.  I  was  silly  enough 
to  suppose  that  an  itinerant  was  expected  to  go  wher- 
ever he  was  sent.  I  was  yoimg  and  hearty,  and  rather 
liked  it.  I  rather  like  the  old-fashioned  itineracy  to 
this  day.  I  was  broken  in  at  the  start.  Rev.  A. 
Biddle  had  much  to  do  with  my  early  training  as  an 
itinerant.  Some  of  these  days,  when  the  chariots  of 
Israel  are  sweeping  around  and  about  Galion,  the  old 
man  will  get  in,  and  hie  away  to  the  home  of  the  pure 
and  good." 


CHAPTEK  XIII. 

Fourth  Election  as  Bishop — 1877. 

The  seventeenth.  General  Conference  convened  in 
Westfield,  Illinois,  May  10,  1877.  The  bishops  re- 
ported an  increase  of  members  during  the  quadren- 
nium  of  19,223.  During  this  period  there  came  into 
use  two  words,  "radical"  and  "liberal,"  which  will 
always  be  associated  with  the  history  of  the  Church. 
Those  who  were  in  favor  of  a  less  severe  law  on  the 
secrecy  question,  who  favored  lay  delegation  and  pro 
rata  representation,  were  denominated  by  the  term 
"liberals,"  while  those  who  were  opposed  were  char- 
acterized as  "radicals."  This  Conference  was  a  little 
stormy,  and,  in  some  particulars,  its  work  was  censur- 
able. Nearly  every  question  was  reviewed,  and  often 
settled  in  the  light  of  its  bearing  on  the  secrecy  ques- 
tion. A  proposition  to  form  a  new  conference  out 
of  parts  of  three  others  was  opposed  because  it  might 
send  liberal  delegates  to  the  next  Conference,  and 
the  growth  of  this  sort  of  sentiment  must  be  opposed. 
Pro  rata  representation  was  apparently  opposed  for 
the  same  reason,  though  it  was  a  principle  which  was 
thoroughly  American.  It  was  earnestly  discussed, 
and  finally  lost  by  a  vote  of  forty-five  to  fifty-four.  A 
protest  signed  by  twenty-four  delegates,  giving  their 
reasons  for  the  same,  was  read,  but  the  request  that 
it  be  placed  on  the  records  was  refused. 

216 


Fourth  Election  as  Bishop  217 

The  secrecy  law  had  been  ambiguous;  for  eight 
years  it  had  not  been  satisfactory.  It  allowed  six 
months  to  all  offenders.  There  were  three  interpreta- 
tions: Some  thought  the  classes  should  expel  the 
member  of  a  secret  organization;  others  understood 
it  was  the  preacher's  duty  to  declare  him  out  of  the 
Church ;  and  others  said  it  was  self -executing.  When 
the  item,  "Duty  of  the  Bishops,"  was  considered,  a 
radical  brother  introduced  a  resolution  instructing  the 
bishops,  if  they  found  a  member  of  any  of  their 
conferences  who  had  in  any  manner  failed  to  enforce 
certain  requirements,  to  at  once  erase  his  name.  Such 
a  requirement  seems  to  us,  to-day,  little  less  than 
high-handed  tyranny.  The  proposition  was  finally 
lost  by  a  vote  of  thirty-two  to  seventy-three. 

At  this  juncture.  Bishop  Glossbrenner  said  that 
the  conference  was  acting  very  inconsistently  in 
asking  the  bishops  to  do  what  the  conference  would 
not  do  itself.  He  urged  that  the  body  itself  pro- 
ceed at  once  to  examine  the  annual  conferences. 
This  was  a  thunderbolt.  If  this  were  honestly 
done,  it  would  show  that  those  who  were  so  in- 
tensely radical  here,  at  home  were  just  as  apathetic 
and  guilty  as  others.  Plans  were  discussed,  the  most 
unsatisfactory  adopted,  and  then  the  farce  began.  At 
the  close,  one  intense  radical  brother  said  he  was  glad 
to  find  that  "the  conferences  were  all  loyal  to  all  the 
laws  of  the  Church,"  when  every  man  knew  they  were 
not.  It  was  a  fine  example  of  ecclesiastical  white- 
washing. 

There  were  two  reports  on  secrecy,  a  majority  and 


218  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

a  minority  report.  The  former  did  not  require  or 
allow  any  action  of  the  class,  but  when  the  preacher 
found  that  a  member  was  connected  with  a  secret  so- 
ciety, he  should  mark  him  as  having  left  the  Church. 
The  discussion  of  these  reports  was  able  and  inter- 
esting. It  would  have  been  well  had  the  full  pro- 
ceedings been  kept.  A  brief  summary  has  been  pre- 
served. One  brother,  who  has  gone  to  the  good  world, 
said :  "A  tremor  on  the  subject  of  secret  societies  per- 
vades the  whole  Church.  I  never  sailed  under  the  flag 
of  treason.  I  have  enforced  the  law  on  secrecy  as 
fairly,  probably,  as  any  member  upon  this  floor.  I 
have  never  belonged  to  any  secret  society,  nor  do  I 
ever  expect  to ;  but  I  regard  the  report  now  before  us, 
and  proposed  to  be  ratified  and  become  a  law,  as  the 
most  infamous  document  ever  offered  to  this  Church. 
I  cannot  believe  that  there  are  ten  of  my  constituents 
who  would,  when  they  thoroughly  understood  this 
report,  reach  forth  their  hands  to  sign  this  damnable 
paper.  It  is  now  proposed,  after  the  ridiculous,  un- 
precedented, and  shameful  exhibition  witnessed  on 
this  floor  yesterday,  in  the  examination  of  the  doings 
of  the  annual  conferences,  by  which  the  paralyzed 
condition  of  the  Church  upon  this  question  was  fully 
shown,  to  pass  this  sweeping  and  unholy  law  as  a 
remedy  for  this  disease.  .  .  .  No  one  can  pos- 
sibly tell  where  all  this  will  end.  I  tell  you,  wo 
have  the  slipping  glaciers  of  the  Alps  to  climb,  and 
no  Bonaparte  to  lead  us.  We  are  marching  over  the 
plains,  a  vast  army,  to  take  a  strong  city,  and  we  have 
no  Hannibal  as  our  guide  and  leader.     We  have  .a 


Fourth  Election  as  Bishop  219 

Rubicon  to  cross,  and  no  Julius  Caesar  among  us  to 
lead  the  van.    Let  us  stop  and  consider." 

Another,  who  has  also  left  us,  said,  with  earnest- 
ness of  his  heart:  ''The  length  of  this  law  utterly 
condemns  it.  Why  a  cart-load  of  law  on  a  single  sub- 
ject ?  This  proves  to  the  thoughtful  that  you  are  not 
sure  that  your  position  is  just.  Why  such  a  long 
apology  and  such  special  pleading,  if  the  law  is  the 
will  of  God  ?  I  cannot  enforce  this  law  and  preserve 
my  self-respect,  and  I  would  sooner  die  than  sacrifice 
that.  I  can  locate,  and  so  can  others,  and  you  can 
send  missionaries  back  to  occupy  the  churches,  if  you 
can  find  any  one  to  preach  to.  Five  hundred  congre- 
gations will  go  out,  and  while  they  are  too  honorable 
to  take  the  property  with  them,  they  have  paid  for 
it,  and  in  equity  it  is  theirs.  We  can  preach  in  the 
schoolhouses  and  under  the  trees.  You  seek  to  en- 
force this  law,  and  a  hundred  doors  now  open  to  you 
will  be  closed  in  your  faces.  You  will  go  ragged  over 
the  bleak  prairies  and  shiver  in  the  storm.  I  enter 
my  protest  against  this  suicidal  policy.  You  have  no 
right  to  transform  this  Church  into  an  anti-secret  so- 
ciety. This  is  not  the  Church  that  Otterbein  planted. 
If  he  were  here,  he  would  disown  you.  I  protest,  in 
the  name  of  Protestantism  and  Christian  liberty 
against  this  measure." 

Another  brother,  who  is  no  longer  living,  closed  an 
earnest  protest,  as  follows:  "Mr.  Chairman,  if  that 
paper  passes,  which  is  altogether  likely,  it  will  be 
an  occasion  of  more  tears  shed  over  a  distracted  and 
bleeding  church.    What  folly  to  pass  a  law  that  you 


220  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

know  will  not  be  enforced !  You  who  are  clamoring 
for  it  will  not  enforce  it.  It  will  not  be  enforced  in 
our  conference.  I  will  be  no  party  to  its  enforce- 
ment If  that  be  treason  to  this  Church,  make  the 
most  of  it." 

There  were  earnest  talks  in  its  favor,  and  it  finally 
passed  by  seventy-one  to  thirty-one  votes.  A  vigor- 
ous protest,  signed  by  twenty-two  members,  was  read, 
but  was  refused  a  place  in  the  proceedings  by  a  vote 
of  forty-two  to  twenty-one. 

The  bishops  took  no  active  part  in  these  discussions, 
and  they  were  excused  from  voting.  There  were  in- 
timations even  here  that  Bishop  Weaver  was  not  satis- 
fied with  this  policy.  It  was  not  quieting  the  Church 
nor  saving  the  people.  Later  years  show  us  that  even 
at  this  time  he  was  seeking  a  better  way.  He  was 
growing  towards  a  belief  that  there  must  be  a  safer 
course  of  action. 

He  was  sent  to  the  East  Mississippi  District,  com- 
prising St.  Joseph,  Upper  Wabash,  Lower  Wabash, 
Central  Illinois,  Southern  Illinois,  Illinois,  Indiana, 
White  River,  Michigan,  and  Saginaw  conferences. 

Bishop  Weaver  had  been  elected  for  the  fourth  time 
by  a  vote  of  seventy-six.  Glossbrenner  received 
eighty-one,  Dickson,  eighty-two,  and  Castle,  sixty. 

He  held  White  River  Conference  at  Blue  River 
Chapel,  Indiana,  August  15;  St.  Joseph,  at  Dayton, 
Indiana,  August  22 ;  Upper  Wabash,  Marysville,  Illi- 
nois, August  29 ;  Michigan,  at  Waterloo,  Michigan, 
September  5;  Central  Illinois,  at  Arrowsmith,  Illi- 
nois, September  12 ;  Illinois,  at  Buck's  Chapel,  Sep- 


Fourth  Election  as  Bishop  221 

tember  19 ;  Lower  Wabash,  at  Center  Point,  Indiana, 
September  26 ;  Indiana,  at  Dale,  Indiana,  October  3  ; 
Southern  Illinois,  at  Walnut  Grove,  October  12. 
These  were  included  in  the  East  Mississippi  District. 

When  he  had  nearly  completed  his  round  of  con- 
ferences he  writes :  "I  have  now  held  eight  confer- 
ences ;  one  more,  and  I  will  be  through  for  this  round. 
The  attendance  has  been  good,  and  the  spirit  of  love 
and  brotherly  kindness  prevailed.  The  ministers,  for 
the  most  part,  have  resolved  to  enter  upon  the  work 
of  the  new  year  with  increased  energy.  No  man,  I 
care  not  how  learned  he  may  be,  will  ever  succeed  in 
winning  souls  to  Christ  until  he  is  consecrated  to  the 
work.  .  .  .  Great  changes  have  taken  place  dur- 
ing the  nine  years  I  have  been  absent  from  this  dis- 
trict. Some  have  gone  to  other  conferences,  some 
have  gone  to  heaven,  and  others  have  come  to  fill  their 
places.  I  have  never  held  so  many  conferences  where 
there  was  so  little  complaining  about  the  general  man- 
agement of  our  Church  interests." 

Bishop  Weaver  and  Rev.  D.  K.  Flickinger  were  on 
a  boat  on  the  Ohio  River,  on  their  way  to  attend  a 
conference.  The  boarding  was  poor,  playing  cards 
the  order  of  the  day,  and  morals  fearfully  bad.  He 
writes:  "I  have  a  good  deal  of  trouble  with  D.  K. 
Flickinger.  The  water  is  low,  and  it  requires  a  great 
deal  of  working  and  turning  to  get  along.  Half  the 
time  he  does  not  know  whether  we  are  going  up  or 
down  the  river.  He  has  an  indistinct  idea  that  we 
are  going  to  the  Southern  Illinois  Conference,  but  is 
not  certain  whether  we  will  land  in  Kentucky  or  Illi- 


222  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

nois.  With  the  eating  he  can  get  along  well  enough. 
You  see,  he  has  been  to  Africa  several  times,  where 
they  eat  everything,  even  rats  and  monkeys ;  that  is 
why  he  is  fond  of  rare  meat.  For  my  part,  if  I  must 
eat  rare  meat,  I  want  it  fresh  from  the  butcher.  This 
lukewarm  stuff — away  with  it !  .  .  .  Four  o'clock, 
A.  M.,  and  we  are  landed ;  it  is  dark ;  we  are  stran- 
gers in  a  strange  land.  Find  a  man  up;  ask  the 
way;  miss  the  road,  but  at  last  turn  up  at  a  little 
hotel.  After  an  interesting  walk  of  a  few  miles,  we 
reach  the  place  for  the  holding  of  the  conference." 

The  following  contributions  to  the  Church  paper 
appeared  this  year :  ''Progress — Expensive"  ;  many 
a  prayer  has  gone  unanswered  because  the  person 
praying  was  not  willing  to  pay  the  price.  "With 
Christ  in  Glory" ;  an  answer  to  the  query,  Why  does 
Christ  want  to  have  his  followers  with  him  ?  "Too 
Much  Talk"  ;  men  must  learn  to  think  more  and  talk 
less.  "The  Precious  Blood  of  Jesus";  forms  and 
ceremonies  are  not  without  their  uses,  but  they  can 
never  take  the  place  nor  answer  the  end  of  the  blood 
of  Christ.  "The  Church's  Mission" — the  salvation 
of  souls.  "Even  at  Last" ;  the  rich  and  the  poor  are 
alike  when  death  comes.  "Growing  in  Grace";  all 
who  are  in  Christ  Jesus  must  grow  in  grace. 

At  the  request  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
the  Friends,  and  the  United  Brethren  societies  of 
Dublin,  Indiana,  on  four  successive  evenings  in  No- 
vember he  delivered  four  discourses  against  the  doc- 
trine of  the  ultimate  happiness  and  holiness  of  all 


Fourth  Mlection  as  Bishop  223 

His  report  for  the  East  Mississippi  District  for 
1877  is  as  follows :  Churches,  989  ;  members,  38,049 ; 
increase,  1,040 ;  ministers,  529  ;  collected  for  all  pur- 
poses, $128,090.51.  "On  account  of  the  scarcity  of 
money  in  the  West,  the  collections  are  far  below  what 
they  would  be  if  money  were  more  plenty.  But  this 
is  not  the  only  difficulty.  Some  men  in  charge  of 
fields  of  labor  would  not  bring  in  a  full  report  if 
money  were  as  plenty  as  the  flies  were  in  Egypt. 
This  is  not  confined  to  one  conference,  but  such  men 
can  be  found  in  almost  any  conference  in  the  Church. 
It  will  be  a  relief  to  the  Church  when  that  class  of 
men  retires  from  the  field.  It  requires  energy  and 
perseverance  to  succeed  in  any  enterprise,  especially 
in  the  ministry." 

The  conferences  for  1878  were  held  as  follows; 
White  Eiver,  at  Bethlehem  Chapel,  August  14 ;  Indi- 
ana, at  Georgetown,  August  21 ;  St.  Joseph,  at  North 
Manchester,  August  28 ;  Michigan,  at  Gainers,  First 
Church,  September  4 ;  Saginaw,  J^orth  Star  Church, 
September  11 ;  Central  Illinois,  Decatur,  September 
25 ;  Southern  Illinois,  Liberty,  Illinois,  October  8 ; 
Illinois,  Mound  Chapel,  October  2;  Lower  Wabash, 
October  9. 

A  number  of  the  conferences  passed  strong  resolu- 
tions this  year  opposing  secrecy  and  against  nullifica- 
tion and  revolutions. 

He  reports  for  1878:  "Eight  hundred  and  forty- 
nine  organized  churches;  863  classes;  34,689  mem- 
bers ;  ministers,  561 ;  collected  for  all  purposes, 
$136,841.57.    Many  souls  were  bom.    The  ministers, 


224  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

for  the  most  part,  are  hard-working  men.  Depres- 
sion in  money  matters  cut  some  of  the  collections 
short." 

The  Church  was  not  at  rest  along  some  lines.  Dr. 
L.  Davis,  in  the  Telescope  for  July  17,  1878,  in  an 
article,  entitled  "Rebellion,"  calls  attention  to  the  con- 
dition of  the  Church :  "It  is  apparent  that  some  of 
our  brethren  are  seeking  to  overthrow  certain  forms 
of  our  Church  government  by  revolution.  They 
openly  and  repeatedly  say  that  the  constitution  is  a 
fraud,  and  hence  it  ought  not  to  be  respected.  These 
brethren  have  been  fairly  met  and  routed  in  argu- 
ment, and  then  defeated  by  a  large  majority  of  votes 
in  the  General  Conference;  but,  no  matter,  they  will 
go  on  in  their  lawless  course."  He  advises  "that  the 
bishops  speak  out  by  tongue  and  pen;  and  that  the 
Telescope  stand  for  law  and  order ;  and  that  those  who 
are  willing  to  stand  for  the  Discipline  should  often 
meet  and  counsel  together." 

During  the  year  1879,  Bishop  Weaver  does  not  ap- 
pear frequently  in  the  paper,  as  heretofore.  We  find 
a  little  tilt  with  the  editor  of  the  Cynosure;  an  article 
on  "The  Church's  Power,"  which  is  in  the  presence 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  another,  "Go  Up  Higher," 
calling  attention  to  the  truth  that  most  men  are  con- 
tent to  remain  too  low  down,  both  morally  and  men- 
tally; "Christian  Unity";  "In  It,  But  N'ot  of  It"; 
and  "We  Must  Have  Revivals" ;  the  Church  was  bom 
in  one. 

The  Bishop  was  in  a  boat  on  the  Ohio  River,  seek- 
ing to  reach  a  point  in  Kentucky ;  the  boat  was  late. 


Fourth  Election  as  Bishop  225 

He  writes :  "One  thing  impresses  me  this  morning, 
and  that  is  the  uselessness  of  grumbling.  There  are 
church  grumblers — men  who  complain  and  find  fault 
with  everything  and  everybody  but  themselves.  Such 
men  are  not  content  to  pick  at,  and  find  fault  with 
their  fellows ;  they  even  complain  of  what  God  does, 
and  what  he  does  not  do.  On  board  this  boat  there 
are  men  who,  if  they  had  their  own  way,  would  prob- 
ably dethrone  the  Creator  and  undertake  to  rule  ac- 
cording to  their  own  notions." 

St  Joseph  Conference  for  1879  met  at  Berrien 
Springs,  September  3;  Michigan,  ISTorth  Castleton, 
September  10 ;  Saginaw,  Elmhall,  September  17 ; 
Upper  Wabash,  Mt.  Zion,  September  24;  Illinois, 
Alexis,  October  1 ;  Central  Illinois,  Mt.  Zion,  October 
8 ;  Lower  Wabash,  Vermilion,  October  15 ;  Southern 
Illinois,  Mt  Nebo,  October  22. 

Early  in  1880,  President  Allen,  of  Westfield  Col- 
lege, had  issued  a  circular  in  behalf  of  the  college, 
which  was  supposed  to  contain  some  reflections  on  the 
conduct  of  some  of  its  supporters.  A  presiding  elder 
in  one  of  the  conferences  replied  to  this  circular. 
Bishop  Weaver  interpreted  this  reply  to  reflect  on 
him,  so  he  wrote  the  following  statement :  "My  char- 
acter has  been  before  the  Church  for  forty  years.  '  !N'o 
man,  dead  or  alive,  has  ever  heard  me  say  one  word 
in  favor  of  secret  societies.  I  have  written,  spoken, 
and  preached  against  them.  I  have  never,  to  my 
knowledge,  received  into  the  Church  a  member  of  a 
secret  society.  I  have  more  than  once  refused  to  re- 
ceive persons  as  members,  even  after  they  had  come 


226  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

forward,  simplj  because  they  could  not  answer  the 
third  question  directly.  I  have  faithfully  executed 
every  law  we  ever  had  on  the  subject  of  secret  socie- 
ties. ISTever  a  case  that  came  under  my  jurisdiction 
has  passed  by  my  consent.  I  have  more  than  once 
refused  to  proceed  with  the  business  of  a  conference 
until  they  had  executed  the  law  in  cases  where  it  had 
been  violated." 

He  proceeds  to  say  that  he  had  never  joined  any 
outside  association,  believing  that  in  the  Church  he 
could  do  and  say  all  he  wanted  against  any  form  of 
evil.  He  then  speaks  of  his  anxiety :  "For  more  than 
ten  years  I  have  witnessed  with  deep  concern  a  grow- 
ing restlessness  in  the  Church.  Men  of  long  stand- 
ing in  our  denomination  have  changed  their  views,  not 
so  much  in  regard  to  secrecy  itself,  as  in  reference  to 
the  manner  of  dealing  with  it  Without  attempting 
to  conceal  or  exaggerate  the  matter,  the  fact  is  before 
us  that  there  are  two  parties  in  the  Church.  Another 
fact  is,  that  there  is  danger  of  a  rupture.  I  have 
heard  men  on  both  sides  of  this  question  say,  ^Let  it 
come ;  we  are  ready,'  I  do  not  feel  thus ;  we  are  not 
ready.  There  is  too  much  at  stake.  Those  who  re- 
main near  at  home,  whose  duties  do  not  require  them 
to  travel  throughout  the  whole  Church,  do  not,  and 
cannot  know  the  extent  of  this  restlessness.  To  pre- 
vent what  I  most  dread,  I  have  counseled  moderation 
on  both  sides.  President  Allen  got  a  glimpse  of  this 
want  of  harmony  during  the  sitting  of  the  last  Gen- 
eral Conference,  and  was  not  slow  in  offering  his  com- 
promise.   The  United  Brethren  Church  has  a  grand 


Fourth  Election  as  Bishop  227 

field  open  before  it.  It  has  a  record  on  moral  reform 
of  which  it  need  not  be  ashamed.  W©  want  harmony. 
In  mj  opinion,  harsh,  unkind,  and  uncharitable  words 
and  thrusts  from  either  party  are  unwise,  and  tend  to 
separate  them  more  and  more. 

"The  last  night  I  spent  with  our  lamented  Bishop 
Edwards,  he  talked  freely  and  with  deep  concern 
about  the  future  of  the  Church.  He  knew  as  much 
about  the  Church  as  any  man  in  it,  and  had  as  deep 
an  interest  in  its  welfare  as  any  man  ever  had.  He 
was  a  pure-minded,  noble  man  of  God.  He  saw,  or 
thought  he  saw,  the  very  danger  I  have  herein  ex- 
pressed; and,  like  a  true  friend  of  the  Church,  he 
was  anxiously  looking  around  to  see  if  there  was  not 
an  honorable  way  out  of  this  trouble.  He  concluded 
by  saying,  'The  Lord  reigns,  and  will  lead  us  out  of 
this  difficulty,  if  we  will  but  trust  him,'  So  I  believe ; 
but  harsh,  unkind  thrusts  through  the  Telescope  will 
never  bring  harmony  and  peace,  but  will  tend  to 
alienate  feeling  and  destroy  confidence.  I  dictate  to 
no  one ;  I  impugn  no  man's  motives,  for  we  must  all 
appear  before  the  judgment-seat  of  Christ.  Each 
must  answer  for  himself.  If  counseling  men  on  both 
sides  of  this  vexed  question  to  be  moderate ;  if  oppos- 
ing harsh,  unkind  words ;  and  if  trying  to  secure  har- 
mony throughout  the  Church  are  crimes,  then  verily 
I  am  guilty." 

September  5,  1880,  from  ISTorth  Star,  Michigan, 
he  writes  a  personal  letter  to  the  editor  of  the  Tele- 
scope,  from  which  we  make  the  following  extract: 

"This  is  my  fifth  conference  this  fall,  and  I  am 


228  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

glad  to  be  able  to  saj  that  the  Master  is  with  us  all 
the  time.  The  sessions  thus  far  have  been  very  pleas- 
ant. There  appears  to  be  an  earnest  desire,  with  a 
settled  determination  upon  the  part  of  nearly  all  the 
members  of  the  conference,  to  go  up  higher  in  Chris- 
tian experience.  With  a  hearty  good  will  they  often 
unite  in  singing,  'j^earer,  my  God,  to  thee.'  Thera 
have  been  frequent  baptisms  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  such 
as  I  have  seldom  witnessed  during  conference  sessions. 
My  brother,  there  is  a  divine  fullness  in  gospel  salva- 
tion. If  any  man  should  doubt  this,  let  him  turn  to 
Ephesians  3 :  18-20.  In  these  verses,  Paul  talks  of 
the  breadth,  length,  depth,  and  height  of  the  love  of 
Christ,  and  all  the  fullness  of  God.  This  is  wonder- 
ful— ^yes,  it  is  wonderful,  glorious,  and  gloriously 
wonderful;  but  it  is  just  that  state  into  which  the 
Holy  Ghost  will  lead  us  all  who  will  trustingly  con- 
secrate our  all  to  Christ.  It  is  a  present,  full  salvation, 
complete  in  all.  There  is  nothing  that  so  well  quali- 
fies ministers  for  conference  work  as  the  baptism  of 
the  Holy  Ghost  It  sweetens  their  dispositions,  makes 
them  firm  and  bold,  yet  humble.  Where  this  grace 
abounds,  every  interest  of  the  Church  will  be  looked 
after.  The  fathers  of  the  United  Brethren  Church 
started  out  with  the  consciousness  that  a  vital  union 
with  Christ  is  essential  to  a  life  of  godliness.  From 
this  central  idea  we  cannot  afford  to  be  divorced.  We 
must  hold  to  it,  not  simply  because  the  fathers  taught 
it,  but  because  Jesus  taught  it.  .  .  .  Thus  far 
the  sessions  of  the  conference  have  been  characterized 
with  the  spirit  of  brotherly  kindness.    There  has  been 


Fourth  Election  as  Bishop  229 

an  encouraging  increase  in  all  the  interests  of  the 
Church.  Mj  own  health  is  comparatively  good. 
With  plenty  to  do,  plenty  to  eat,  sound  sleep,  and  the 
help  of  the  Spirit,  the  work  goes  on  smoothly." 

He  was  holding  a  conference  in  the  vicinity  of 
Springfield,  Illinois,  and,  in  response  to  the  editor  of 
the  Telescope  for  a  letter,  he  wrote  him  privately, 
saying :  'Tor  two  reasons  I  cannot  write :  The  first 
is,  I  do  not  have  time.  I  am  giving  all  my  time  and 
energies  to  my  conference,  trying  to  help  them  in 
every  department  of  work.  The  second,  and  main 
reason  is,  that  I  have  had  the  ague.  I  had  an  awful 
hard  twist  with  it  some  two  weeks  ago,  and  am  not 
over  it  yet.  Did  you  ever  have  the  ague  ?  I  do  not 
mean  the  chills,  but  the  regular  old-fashioned,  blue- 
stocking kind  ?  First,  I  was  in  Greenland,  among  the 
everlasting  mountains  of  snow,  shaking  for  all  that 
was  out.  Doctors  say  a  well-developed  man  has  two 
hundred  and  forty-four  bones  in  his  body.  Just 
imagine,  if  you  can,  that  all  these  bones  are  aching 
at  each  end  and  also  in  the  middle.  That  will  make 
seven  hundred  and  thirty-two  aches,  all  going  on  at 
one  time.  But  that  is  not  the  real  ague,  only  an  inci- 
dent connected  therewith.  From  Greenland's  icy 
mountains  I  was  carried  to  the  center  of  the  torrid 
zone  in  about  forty-five  minutes — hot,  hotter,  hottest. 
But  this  was  only  another  little  incident  connected 
with  the  ague.  Add  all  these  little  incidents  together, 
and  drop  in  here  and  there  all  the  mean  and  un- 
earthly sensations  that  you  can  think  of,  and  you  have 
a  faint  idea  of  what  the  ague  is. 


230  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

"But  I  did  not  have  the  ague,  I  deny  the  charge. 
I  was  a  little  like  a  man  of  whom  I  once  heard,  who 
had  resolved  that  on  a  certain  evening  he  would  steal 
his  neighbor's  calf.  But  his  neighbor  found  out  his 
purpose,  and,  having  a  pet  bear,  removed  the  calf  and 
tied  the  bear  in  its  place.  The  evening  came,  and  so 
did  the  man,  and  brought  a  friend  with  him  to  help 
carry  the  calf  home.  Arriving  at  the  barn,  he  crept 
cautiously  to  the  place  and  took  hold  of  the  supposed 
calf.  Presently  his  accomplice,  who  remained  at  the 
door,  heard  quite  a  scuffle  going  on,  and,  in  a  loud 
whisper,  said,  'Have  you  got  the  calf  V  'No,'  was  the 
curt  reply,  'but  the  calf  has  got  me.'  This  is  exactly 
my  case.  The  ague  has  got  me.  I  was  all  alone  at 
my  little  room  at  the  hotel,  and  it  was  very  interest- 
ing." 

He  held  the  Southern  Illinois  Conference  in  Oc- 
tober, 1880,  and  spoke  very  pleasantly  of  the  out- 
look. The  ministers  had  gone  to  the  fields  of  labor 
with  a  fixed  purpose  to  do  better  work  than  before. 
Concerning  this  feeling,  he  says :  "I  am  more  than 
ever  convinced  that  our  want  of  success  in  winning 
souls  to  Christ  is  owing  mainly  to  our  want  of  conse- 
cration to  the  ministry.  A  man  whose  whole  heart 
is  not  given  to  this  one  work  will  not  likely  succeed. 
Paul  said,  concerning  himself  and  colaborers,  'We 
will  give  ourselves  continually  to  prayer,  and  to  the 
ministry  of  the  word.'  Herein  rests  the  true  power 
of  the  minister  of  Jesus.  !N"o  wonder  Paul  and  those 
with  him  succeeded." 

Two  days  after  this  conference,  he  started  for 


Fourth  Election  as  bishop  231 

Sedan,  two  hundred  miles  southwest  of  Kansas  City, 
to  dedicate  a  church.  When  he  reached  St.  Louis, 
everything  was  astir.  "The  railroad  companies  were 
on  a  bender,  cutting  the  fare  down  to  almost  nothing, 
and  the  result  was,  that  almost  everybody,  from  the 
short-limbed  Dutchman  to  the  long,  gaunt,  gangling 
Yankee,  seemed  bent  on  going  somewhere,  no  matter 
where,  or  whether  they  had  any  business  abroad ;  they; 
must  go  on  that  very  next  train  or  die.  Elbowing 
my  way  through  the  crowd,  I  got  within  some  dis- 
tance of  the  ticket  office,  and,  looking  over  the  heads 
of  all  the  rest,  I  inquired  the  fare  to  Kansas  City. 
*Eight  dollars  and  fifty  cents,'  was  the  answer.  I  did 
not  invest  'to  wonst.'  Having  a  little  leisure,  I 
looked  about,  and  finally  bought  a  ticket  for  one  dol- 
lar. Three  hundred  miles  for  one  dollar — cheap 
enough.  After  I  had  my  ticket,  I  just  thought,  if 
railroad  companies  wanted  to  cut,  they  could  cut 
away  for  all  of  me.  I  take  things  just  as  they  come. 
When  the  price  is  up,  I  have  to  pay  it,  and  when  it 
is  down,  I  do  the  same." 

After  an  all-day's  ride,  he  reached  Independence, 
where  he  was  entertained  by  Eev.  R.  J.  Evans,  one  of 
the  presiding  elders  of  Osage  Conference.  He  was 
one  of  the  pioneers  of  Southern  Kansas.  "The  dis- 
trict is  large,  requiring  a  great  amount  of  travel ;  and, 
although  he  is  over  sixty  years  of  age,  he  thinks  noth- 
ing of  going  one  hundred  miles  on  horseback.  He  is 
even  now  holding  himself  ready,  at  the  bidding  of 
the  Board  of  Missions,  to  go  further  south  or  west 
and  commence  a  new  mission."     Twenty  miles  by 


232  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

stage,  and  he  reached  the  house  of  Rev.  J.  C.  Ross, 
where  he  tarried  for  the  night,  and  the  next  morning 
was  taten  by  him  twenty  miles  further  to  Sedan. 
There  was  a  small  membership  here,  who  had  built 
a  little  church,  and  needed  $500  to  pay  for  it.  After 
an  earnest  effort,  he  secured  the  money.  He  left  the 
next  morning  at  three  o'clock  for  the  railroad,  which 
was  i*eached  in  three  hours,  and,  after  a  steady  rid© 
on  that  for  forty-two  hours,  he  reached  his  home  in 
Dayton,  a  distance  of  nine  hundred  miles.  In  his 
record  of  the  trip,  he  says :  ''If  I  were  a  young  man 
seeking  a  home,  I  would  go  to  Kansas.  If  I  were  a 
young  preacher,  and  willing  to  make  some  sacrifice 
for  Christ  and  his  cause,  and  had  no  field  of  labor 
here,  I  would  go  to  Kansas.  It  is  a  poor  place  for 
drones,  however." 

Some  of  Bishop  Weaver's  most  interesting  articles 
were  written  at  depots,  waiting  for  trains.  In  this 
manner  he  helped  to  pass  away  the  otherwise  weary 
hours.  At  such  times  he  always  tried  to  find  the 
brighter  side.  Here  is  a  specimen,  entitled  "Saturday 
Evening" :  "It  is  now  Saturday  evening,  November 
13,  1880.  There  can  be  no  mistake,  for  I  saw  it  in 
the  almanac.  I  am  here  at  Elmwood,  Indiana,  on  my 
way  to  dedicate  a  church,  somewhere  in  the  country. 
I  had  to  change  cars  here,  and  was  told  I  must  wait 
four  hours  and  fifteen  minutes.  I  sat  and  wrote  and 
read  for  about  three  hours.  Just  then  the  agent  poked 
his  head  through  the  ticket-hole,  and,  in  a  provokingly 
cool  manner,  said,  'Mister,  your  train  will  be  late.' 
Astonished,  I  arose  to  my  feet,  and  said,  'How  much  T 


Fourth  Election  as  Bishop  233 

'I  cannot  tell,  exactly,  but  I  should  think  about  six 
hours.'  Bless  my  life !  it  is  now  6  p.  m.,  and  that  will 
make  it  midnight.  I  will  get  to  Frankfort  about 
2  A.  M.,  and  then  ride  several  miles  in  a  private  con- 
veyance. I  will  be  in  a  lovely  condition  to  talk  to 
the  people,  and  I  think  I  will  feel  eloquent.  Think 
of  it !  ten  mortal  hours  lingering  around  with  noth- 
ing to  do  but  wait  on  a  belated  train. 

"But  if  we  will  keep  our  eyes  and  ears  open,  we 
may  learn  something  despite  our  unfavorable  sur- 
roundings. While  eating  supper  at  the  hotel,  I  heard 
with  my  own  ears  some  young  people  talking  of  a 
chewing-gum  party  to  come  off  the  next  week.  I 
never  before  heard  of  such  a  thing.  I  would  like  to 
look  in  on  that  party  when  they  get  everything  in 
operation.  I  do  not  know  how  they  would  proceed, 
but  we  shall  suppose  that  twenty  or  thirty  persons  are 
seated  in  a  room  ;  at  the  tap  of  the  bell  the  waiter  en- 
ters with  the  gum ;  each  takes  a  piece,  according  to 
the  dimensions  of  his  or  her  mouth.  When  all  is 
ready,  the  master  of  ceremonies  gives  the  word  of 
command,  and  every  mouth  goes  off  at  once.  For  a 
given  time,  say  two  hours  and  a  half,  they  sit  and 
chew  with  a  relish.  I  do  not  know  whether  they  sit 
facing  each  other  or  not.  Being  a  stranger  in  the 
place,  I  did  not  wish  to  expose  my  ignorance  by  ask- 
ing questions.  For  anything  I  know  to  the  contrary, 
they  might  change  cuds  from  one  mouth  to  the  other. 
This  would  add  interest  to  the  occasion,  especially  if 
some  used  tobacco  or  had  decayed  teeth.  .  .  . 
Only  four  hours  more,  and  the  train  may  be  here.    I 


234  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

say  it  may  be  here.  Nobody  can  tell  sure  and  certain 
when  a  belated  train  will  arriva  .  .  .  Later :  I 
did  not  have  to  wait  the  full  ten  hours.  A  freight 
train  came  along,  and,  by  special  arrangements,  I 
shipped  as  freight,  and  saved  one  hour." 

From  a  touching  article  written  at  the  close  of  the 
year,  entitled  "All  Is  Quiet  Beyond,"  we  make  the 
following  extract :  "Millions  have  gone  from  us,  and 
they  are  still  going  at  the  rate  of  3,600  every  hour. 
Of  all  who  have  gone  from  us,  not  one  has  returned 
to  tell  us  how  it  is  over  there.  To  us,  all  is  quiet  be- 
yond. And  yet,  there  are  questions  that  awaken  deep 
solicitude.  What  will  be  the  first  impressions  of  the 
soul  as  it  passes  the  boundary  lines  between  time  and 
eternity  ?  We  must  remember  the  soul  will  lose  none 
of  its  consciousness  in  the  passage  through  the  shad- 
owy regions  of  death.  .  .  .  What  will  be  the  first 
impressions  upon  the  soul  as  a  legion  of  angels  passes 
in  review  before  it  ?  Here,  we  have  not  had  so  much 
as  a  glimpse  of  an  angel,  but  the  soul  having  passed 
the  boundary  line  to  them,  the  angels  pure  and  spot- 
less come  trooping  down  to  give  it  a  grand  welcome. 
.  .  .  What  will  be  the  first  impressions  upon  the 
soul  when  it  is  brought  into  the  presence  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  ?  There,  he  is  a  real  person.  Memory  will  not 
be  dethroned.  The  soul  will  not  have  forgotten  how, 
by  faith,  it  clung  to  him  amid  the  smoke  and  dust  of 
life's  battle.  Gethsemane,  Calvary,  and  Joseph's  new 
tomb  will  come  thronging  back  upon  the  memory. 
Here  I  am  at  home,  saved  through  the  blood  of  him 
before  whom  I  stand,  and  here  I  am  to  remain  for- 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

His  Fifth  Election  as  Bishop — 1881. 

The  eighteenth  General  Conference  convened  in 
Lisbon,  Iowa,  May  12,  1881.  FoTtj-five  conferences 
were  represented  by  one  hundred  and  twenty-six  dele- 
gates. A  number  of  petitions  came  before  the  Con- 
ference concerning  the  secrecy  question,  pro  rata 
representation,  and  other  questions  of  interest.  The 
report  on  pro  rata  representation  of  the  annual  confer- 
ences in  the  General  Conference  was  submitted,  em- 
bodying this  change  in  a  modified  fo^rm.  This  was 
earnestly  discussed,  some  urging  that  territory  was  to 
be  represented;  and  others,  ideas  and  principles; 
while  others  insisted  on  membership  as  the  basis. 
Underlying  the  whole  discussion,  and  cropping  out 
here  and  there,  seemed  to  be  the  inevitable  secrecy 
question.  It  appeared  to  be  assumed  on  both  sides 
that  an  increased  representation  to  the  conference 
having  the  largest  membership  would  lead  to  an  in- 
creased representation  on  the  part  of  those  who  de- 
sired a  modification  of  our  secrecy  law.  The  report 
was  finally  adopted  by  a  vote  of  sixty  yeas  and  fifty- 
seven  nays,  one  absent,  and  two  excused  from  voting. 
By  a  previous  vote,  the  bishops  were  all  excused. 
Bishop  Kephart,  who  voted  in  the  affirmative,  was,  at 
this  session,  elected  bishop,  and  was  understood  to  be 
in  sympathy  with  the  aggressive  minority. 


236  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver    ' 

It  was  very  evident  to  one  familiar  with  our  pre- 
vious history,  that  dissatisfaction  with  the  manner  of 
dealing  with  the  secrecy  question  was  growing 
stronger.  The  number  of  those  who  wanted  a  change 
was  increasing.  The  bishops  themselves  had  be€n 
divided  in  opinion  when  they  came  to  interpret  the 
meaning  of  two-thirds.  Where  there  was  opposition 
to  the  law,  it  was  not  enforced.  Where  the  sentiment 
of  the  conference  was  not  in  sympathy  with  it,  the 
traveling  preachers  were  not  held  to  a  rigid  account. 
They  claimed  they  did  the  beet  they  could.  It  was 
asserted  that  even  those  who  claimed  to  be  more  rad- 
ical and  more  consistent  did  no  better  than  the  others. 
If  they  did,  they  only  divided  the  Church  and  made 
enemies  fo^r  it,  instead  of  friends.  Some  measures 
must  sooner  or  later  be  found  to  reconcile  these  dis- 
cordant elements,  or  the  Church  would  not  do  her 
work. 

Bishop  Weaver  met  his  conferences  in  the  North- 
west District  at  the  times  appointed.  When  the  year 
closed,  he  made  this  report  of  his  work:  "The  dis- 
tricts having  been  changed  at  the  last  General  Con- 
ference, I  have  no  means  at  hand  by  which  I  can 
compare  the  past  with  the  present  year.  Some  of  the 
interests  of  the  Church  seem  to  have  been  advanced, 
and  others  not  Some  of  the  members  are  hard-work- 
ing, earnest  men ;  but  a  good  many  lack  consecration 
to  the  work  of  soul-saving.  I  state  it  plainly,  but 
kindly,  that  a  good  many  who  ask  for,  and  obtain 
fields  of  labor  ought  to  seek  a  fresh  baptism  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  or  retire  from  the  field.     We  have  on 


Fifth  Election  as  Bishop  237 

this  district  some  two  hundred  and  fifty  itinerants  at 
work,  and  over  two  hundred  local  ministers.  There 
are  scores  of  quarterly  conference  preachers  and  over 
five  thousand  Sunday-school  teachers;  and  when  we 
sum  up  the  result  of  the  year's  work,  we  have  an  in- 
crease in  membership  of  seven  hundred.  Beloved 
brethren  and  fellow-workers  in  the  Master's  vineyard, 
we  must  arise  and  go  forward." 

About  this  time,  with  these  thoughts  in  mind,  he 
writes  an  article  for  the  Telescope  on  "The  Church's 
Greatest  Need,"  from  which  we  make  the  following 
extract :  "What  power  for  good  has  a  formal  church  \ 
The  house  of  worship  may  be  beautiful,  the  pastor 
may  be  thoroughly  educated  and  accomplished,  the 
singing  may  be  of  the  highest  order,  but  what  of  it  I 
Theg;^  have  power  to  please,  but  no  power  to  lead  men 
and  women  to  Christ.  The  church  at  Laodicea  felt 
rich;  they  did  not  think  they  needed  anything,  but 
they  were  in  a  most  wretched  condition.  They  had 
all  the  forms  of  religion,  but  they  were  destitute  of 
the  quickening  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Yet  they 
were  as  well  off  as  many  of  our  congregations  to-day. 
They  had  lost  all  power  to  lead  perishing  souls  to  the 
Water  of  Lifa  The  same  is  true  of  many  of  our 
congregations  at  present.  The  greatest  need,  there- 
fore, of  the  church  to-day  is  a  mighty  baptism  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  I  know  full  well  that,  to  what  some 
people  call  the  refined  ear,  this  sounds  a  little  old- 
fashioned,  but  to  those  who  are  under  the  quickening 
power  of  this  divine  agent,  it  is  in  perfect  harmony 
with  their  heart's  experience.    To  receive  this  much- 


238  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

needed  power,  we  must  make  a  full  and  complete  con- 
se-eration  of  all  we  have  and  are  to  God.  The  gift 
will  not  be  accepted  until  it  is  on  the  altar." 

In  the  month  of  January,  1881,' he  writes  an  ear- 
nest plea  for  soul-saving.  He  shows  that  this  is  the 
special  work  of  the  minister.  This  has  been  a  pas- 
sion with  the  best  and  most  successful  preachers.  It 
takes  earnest,  persevering  work  to  win  souls  to  Christ. 
"There  are  men  called  of  God  to  go  out  and  work  for 
the  salvation  of  souls  who  seem  not  to  care  whether 
they  are  saved  or  not  I  would  not  be  uncharitable 
toward  any  man,  but  when  men  come  to  conference 
year  after  year,  and  scarcely  report  one  soul  won  to 
Christ,  and  almost  every  interest  of  the  Church  neg- 
lected, I  must  conclude  that  there  is  no  love  for  per- 
ishing souls  in  their  hearts.  Good,  earnest  men  will 
sometimes  fail,  but  not  always ;  nor  will  they  neglect 
the  interests  of  the  Church  committed  to  their  care. 
In  the  matter  of  saving  souls,  the  past  year  has  not 
been  equal  to  former  years.  I  need  not  speculate  on 
the  probable  cause.  I  only  know  this,  that  if  the  two 
thousand  ministers  in  this  Church  were  wholly  con- 
secrated to  the  great  work  of  soul-saving,  it  would 
show  different  results.  I  insist  upon  it,  we  must  have 
the  baptism  of  the  Holy  Spirit." 

From  his  home  at  Lisbon,  Iowa,  December,  1881, 
he  sends  out  the  following  letter  to  every  minister  in 
the  Northwest  District : 

"My  Dear  Brother  :  Permit  me,  as  your  fellow- 
laborer  in  the  patience  and  kingdom  of  our  Lord,  to 
caU  your  attention  to  the  following : 


Fifth  Election  as  Bishop  239 

"1.  Ministerial  Character.  Isaiah  52: 11;  Acts 
11 :  24;  II.  Timothy  1 ;  9  ;  I.  Peter  1 :  15  ;  11.  Tim- 
othy 2 :  15 ;  4 :  1-5.  These  passages  teach  us  what  we 
must  be  if  we  would  succeed  in  winning  souls  to 
Christ. 

"2.  Ministerial  Worlc.  Acts  6:4;  Proverbs  10 : 
1-5  ;  Daniel  1:2,  3 ;  Psalm  126 :  5,  6.  These:,  and 
many  similar  passages,  teach  us  these  three  facts: 
( 1 )  Soul-saving  is  the  first  great  work  of  a  Christian 
minister.  (2)  Souls  won  to  Christ  must  be  carefully 
and  tenderly  cared  for;  they  must  be  led  and  fed. 
(3)  The  faithful  laborer  shall  receive  his  reward. 

"3.  We  must  have  revivals.  If  souls  are  not  won 
to  Christ,  and  finally  saved  in  heaven,  through  your 
instrumentality,  the  work  will  be  a  failure.  To  seek 
and  to  save  the  lost,  the  Son  of  man  came  into  the 
world.  For  this  he  suifered  and  died  on  the  cross. 
For  this  he  was  buried  and  rose  again.  For  this  he 
ever  liveth  to  make  intercession.  For  this  he  called 
you  into  the  ministry.  Remember,  my  brother,  that 
all  heaven  is  in  sympathy  with  your  work,  and  the 
angels  are  ready  to  rejoice  with  you  when  souls  are 
saved.  Oh,  for  the  burning  zeal  of  the  Lord's 
prophet !  (Isaiah  62 : 1.)  Because  the  work  of  soul- 
saving  is  great  and  difficult,  the  Master  said,  'Lo,  I 
am  with  you  alway.'  We  must  have  the  enduement 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  the  abiding  presence  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.    With  these,  we  can  succeed. 

"4.  Carefully  and  prayerfully  study  the  what  and 
the  how;  that  is,  what  to  say  and  how  to  say  it;  also, 
what  to  do  and  how  to  do  it.    *He  that  winneth  souls 


240  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

is  wise.'  Any  minister,  in  order  to  succeed,  must  be 
an  organizer;  that  is,  he  must  carefully  study  how 
to  utilize  all  the  forces  there  are  in  and  around  him. 
If  he  would  lead  to  victory,  he  must,  as  far  as  pos- 
sible, find  something  for  every  one  to  do. 

"5.  Be  careful,  my  brethren,  to  look  after  every 
interest  committed  to  your  care.  Let  us  have  one 
faithful,  earnest  year's  work  for  Christ  and  the 
Church.  For  your  own  benefit,  read  Section  X.  of 
our  Discipline.  Let  us  pray  night  and  day  for  the 
outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  We  must  have  re- 
vivals. Your  brother  in  Christ, 

"J.  Weaver." 

These  are  faithful  words,  and  just  as  precious  to- 
day as  they  were  then. 

He  had  arrangements  made  to  go  East  and  dedi- 
cate a  church.  It  rained  on  the  way  there,  and  on 
Sunday.  He  had  a  good  congregation,  however,  and 
raised  $1,400,  and  dedicated  the  church.  Part  of  the 
time  he  was  annoyed  with  the  toothache :  "!N"ot  a  lit- 
tle grumbling  among  the  grinders,  but  the  regular 
old-fashioned  jumping,  pounding,  kicking,  everlast- 
ing, indescribable  toothache.  It  commenced  on  Sat- 
urday, and  kept  it  up  all  day.  I  had  to  soothe  it  by 
using  cold  water,  red-hot  liniment,  and  everything  I 
could  think  of,  but  it  went  tearing  on  as  if  the  per- 
petuity of  the  universe  depended  upon  the  amount  of 
aching  that  particular  tooth  could  get  in  by  the  hour. 
Finally,  feeling  brave  and  resolute,  I  entered  the 
dentist's  office.  He  looked  at  it,  and  said  he  could  do 
nothing  for  it  only  to  take  it  out.     I  was  in  a  tight 


Fifth  Election  as  Bishop  2il 

place.  I  told  him  I  did  not  want  to  spare  it,  for  fear 
I  would  lisp.  He  grinned,  and  said  he  did  not  think 
I  would  lisp  much.  I  said  I  could  not  spare  it,  and 
that  I  might  call  back  in  the  morning.  I  did  not  say 
for  certain.  I  only  said,  maybe  I  might.  I  could 
not  run  the  risk  of  lisping,  so  I  did  not  go  back.  I 
have  that  one  particular  tooth  yet.  If  a  man  think 
of  himself  a  little  more  highly  than  he  ought,  just  let 
one  of  his  teeth  get  on  a  bender,  and  if  he  don't  forget 
everything  on  earth  and  under  the  earth  but  that  one 
particular  tooth,  then  he  is  a  hopeless  case.  Then 
I  know  of  nothing  in  all  the  range  of  human  thought 
that  will  try  a  man's  patience  more  than  the  old- 
fashioned  toothache.  I  have  tried  it,  and  know  that 
my  patience  has  been  worn  so  thin  that  if  a  dog 
barked  at  me  I  was  insulted." 

He  visited  Colorado  Mission  District  about  this 
time,  to  look  after  the  interests  of  the  Church.  He 
was  at  Loveland  Mission,  and  dedicated  a  church. 
^' After  this  dedication,  in  company  with  Rev.  Mr. 
McCormick  and  wife,  I  started  across  the  plains  for 
Denver,  a  distance  of  forty  miles.  It  was  a  grand 
ride,  but  I  am  a  little  like  the  man  who  ate  the  crow ; 
when  asked  if  he  could  eat  another,  he  thought  he 
could,  but  he  had  no  particular  hankering  after  it. 
Those  who  want  to  take  such  rides,  and  think  they 
cannot  live  without  them,  can,  by  paying  a  small  sum, 
have  my  place  hereafter,  henceforth,  and  forever 
more.  We  reached  Denver  in  good  time,  and  by  the 
next  morning  I  was  all  right  again. 

"From  one  cause  and  another,  the  Church  has  not 


242  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

advanced  in  Colorado  as  it  should  have  done.  It  has 
not  been  for  want  of  talent  in  the  ministry,  for,  in 
proportion  to  their  members,  there  is  not  a  more  tal- 
enteid  class  of  ministers  in  any  conference  in  our 
Church,  Two  things  have  hindered  their  progress — 
want  of  harmony  and  consecration.  This  is  a  hard 
field  to  cultivate,  and  it  requires  faithful,  earnest 
work  to  win  souls  to  Christ.  A  Methodist  minister 
told  me  he  had  been  preaching  some  two  hundred 
miles  from  the  city,  and  found  a  number  of  United 
Brethren.  He  had  eaten  at  their  tables  and  had  slept 
in  their  beds.  They  told  him  they  thought  well  of 
the  Methodists,  but  better  of  the  United  Brethren. 
They  were  waiting  in  hope  that  some  minister  of  the 
United  Brethren  Church  would  visit  them.  Those 
in  Colorado  cannot  reach  them,  for  they  have  not 
time.  I  insist,  it  takes  grit  and  grace  to  succeed  in 
Colorado"  {Telescope,  July  12,  1882). 

April  21,  1882,  he  met  some  of  the  ministers  at 
Blair,  Washington  County,  Nebraska,  and  organized 
what  was  called  the  "Elkhom  Conference."  There 
were  eleven  fields,  mostly  missions,  and  frontier  min- 
isters united  in  the  organization.  The  territory  was 
good,  and  to  the  bishop  the  outlook  was  hopeful,  espe- 
cially if  they  would  carefully  guard  some  points 
which  he  named  to  them,  such  as:  "The  reception 
of  men  into  the  conference  who  could  not  be  useful  in 
their  own  conferences,  and  men  of  like  character  from 
other  churches;  also,  men  in  their  O'wn  midst  who 
are  too  old  ever  to  pass  the  course  of  reading.  It  is 
time  quarterly  conferences   should   cease  to  recom- 


Fifth  Election  as  Bishop  243 

mend  to  the  annual  conferences  men  who  can  but 
poorly  represent  the  Church  as  preachers.  I  advise 
all  our  conferences,  and  especially  our  mission  con- 
ferences, to  raise  the  standard  of  ministerial  qualili- 
cation.  Another  thing  to  be  guarded  against  is  party 
spirit;  nothing  will  ruin  a  conference  more  quickly 
than  this.  Some  men  seem  to  think  that  God  has 
called  them  to  be  leaders;  they  will  work  with  all 
their  might  to  be  elected  presiding  elders,  and  if  not 
elected,  they  will  not  work  at  all.  The  desire  for 
office  is  often  the  first  step  to  conspiracy.  Parties 
are  formed,  jealousies  are  cherished,  and  then  away 
goes  the  peace  and  harmony  of  the  conference.  I  saw 
none  of  this  spirit  in  the  Elkhom  Conference,  but  I 
have  seen  it  elsewhere,  and  I  refer  to  it  as  a  warning 
for  the  future." 

While  residing  at  Lisbon,  Iowa,  some  of  the  ladies 
of  the  United  Brethren  Church  took  it  into  their 
heads  to  present  Bishop  Weaver  with  a  set  of  Cham- 
bers' Encyclopedia.  So  they  put  their  mites  to- 
gether, and  found  they  had  enough  and  to  spare ;  and 
they  added  a  handsomely  bound  copy  of  Ralston's 
"Elements  of  Divinity"  to  the  collection.  They  sent 
Eev,  J.  S.  Smith  to  the  bishop's  residence  to  make 
the  presentation.  Through  the  city  papers,  the 
bishop  replied :  "Will  you  permit  me  to  say  to  some- 
bodies in  and  about  Lisbon  that  I  am  ever  so  much 
obliged  for  the  presentation  of  a  complete  set  of 
Chambers'  Encyclopedia  and  Ralston's  'Elements  of 
Divinity.'  It  was  on  this  wise:  I  was  sitting  at 
home  the  other  evening,  and  Rev.  Mr.  Smith  called 


244  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

at  mj  home  and  presented  me  with  the  books.  He 
said  it  was  a  slight  token  of  respect  from  one  and 
another.  Well,  I  could  see  the  token  as  clear  as  a 
sunbeam,  but  I  have  not  yet  been  able  to  see  where 
the  slight  comes  in.  If  this  is  the  way  they  slight 
people  out  West,  I  will  send  for  all  my  friends  to 
come  West  'to  wonst.'  " 

In  an  article  showing  the  great  danger  of  being 
"nearly  saved,"  he  told  this  story  concerning  him- 
self: "Some  time  since,  I  started  on  a  short  tour 
eastward.  All  went  well,  and  I  reached  Chicago  in 
due  time,  and  had  a  little  over  an  hour  to  go  from 
one  depot  to  another — about  a  mile.  I  made  the  dis- 
tance in  twenty  minutCiS.  I  wanted  to  see  a  rail- 
road official,  and,  to  my  horror,  learned  that  his  office 
was  seven  squares  away.  ISTothing  daunted,  I  struck 
out  between  a  trot  and  a  run,  and  made  the  distance 
in  twelve  minut-es,  but  the  official  was  not  in.  I 
waited,  and  every  minute  seemed  five,  but  at  last  he 
came.  My  business  was  soon  done^  and  I  said,  'I 
must  make  that  train.'  '^Can't  do  it/  was  his  curt 
reply;  but  I  went  out  bent  on  making  the  train.  It 
was  early  morning,  and  everybody  seemed  to  be  on 
the  street  going  somewhere.  I  pushed  through  and 
around  the  crowd,  sometimes  on  the  curbstone,  once 
in  the  gutter,  (all  straight,  though,)  but  on  I  went, 
bound  to  make  that  one  particular  train.  A  boy,  just 
behind  me,  yelled  out,  ''Go  it,  dad!' — the  miserable 
little  rascal !  I  had  no  time  to  stop,  else  I  would  have 
turned  around  and  looked  at  him.  This  was  my  first 
insult    On  I  went  three  squares.    I  saw  a  street-car 


Mfth  Election  as  Bishop  245 

going  my  way,  hailed  it,  and  got  in.  It  seemed  to  me 
I  did  not  have  more  than  an  inch  of  breath  in  my 
body.  I  told  the  conductor  I  wanted  to  make  that 
train.  He  looked  down  upon  me, — for  I  was  sitting, 
— and,  with  one  of  those  broad,  don't-care  sort  of 
grins,  quietly  said,  'I  guess  you  will  come  very  nearly 
making  it'  That  was  the  second  insults  After  all 
that  running  and  fussing,  to  be  told  that  I  would  very 
nearly  succeed !  What  comfort  could  that  be  ?  If  I 
failed,  I  might  just  as  well  be  ten  hours  behind.  I 
did  not  quarrel  with  him,  for  I  had  no  breath  to 
spare.  I  was  just  about  tuckered  out.  But  I  did 
succeed.  I  reached  the  train,  and  had  all  of  a  half 
a  minute  to  spare.  After  I  was  seated,  and  had  re- 
covered some  of  my  lost  breath,  I  thought  that  if  I 
could  have  had  that  miserable  boy  who  yelled  at  me, 
and  that  cold-hearted  street-car  conductor  in  a  cor- 
ner, somewhere,  I  should  most  likely  have  told  them 
that  I  trembled  at  the  mere  suggestion  of  what  this 
world  might  have  been  if  the  Lord  had  forgotten  to 
make  them.  Moral:  If  you  stop  to  fuss  with  every 
one  whom  you  imagine  intends  to  insult  you,  and  look 
cross  at  every  boy  who  yells  at  you,  you  will  get  in 
too  late^" 

Late  in  the  fall,  he  furnished  the  Telescope  with 
an  interesting  article  on  "Our  Need,"  in  which  he 
pleaded  for  charity  and  sweetness  of  spirit,  from 
which  we  make  an  extract :  "We  have  been  passing 
through  a  long  struggle  on  the  secrecy  question.  Much 
has  been  said  and  done  on  both  sides.  Many  things 
have  been  said  and  done  that  were  not  in  harmony 


246  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

with  the  mood  and  spirit  of  Christ.  My  advice  to 
all  would  be  this:  Stand  firmly  by  the  long-estab- 
lished principles  of  this  Church.  If  our  present 
method  of  dealing  with  this  great  evil  is  not  what  it 
should  be,  the  Lord  will  show  us  a  better  way  in  due 
time.  If  ever  I  believed  anything  in  my  life,  I  be- 
lieve this,  that  the  Lord  will  lead  us  out  of  this  diffi- 
culty, if  we  will  let  him.  I  suggest  that  we  hold  an 
election  at  the  throne  of  grace  for  a  leader,  and  all 
vote  their  affections,  heart,  and  will  to  the  Son  of 
Mary.  Then  let  us  all  fall  in  line,  and  follow  where 
he  leads.  He  will  lead  us  to  certain  victory.  Rash 
words  and  rash  acts  will  never  lead  to  peace  and  har- 
mony. We  have  too  little  faith  in  God,  and  too  much 
confidence  in  our  own  opinions.  We  sometimes  speak 
and  act  as  though  we  believed  it  were  impossible  for 
us  to  be  mistaken.  We  forget  that  great  and  good 
men  do  sometimes  make  mistakes.  A  man  may  be 
sound  in  principles  and  wrong  in  method.  Concern- 
ing any  matter  not  clearly  defined  in  the  Word  of 
God,  we  may  be  mistaken.  It  is  always  right  to  go 
to  God  and  ask  for  wisdom.  It  seems  to  me  that  any 
method,  however  wise  it  may  seem  to  be,  which  does 
not  aim  at  the  salvation  of  the  soul  is  not  of  God." 

His  conferences  this  year — 1882 — were  held  as  fol- 
lows :  April  4,  Elkhorn  Mission  District,  Blair,  Ne- 
braska ;  June  22,  Colorado,  Denver,  Colorado,  First 
Church;  August  23,  St.  Joseph,  Manchester,  Indi- 
ana; August  30,  Michigan,  West  Odessa,  Michigan; 
September  6,  North  Michigan,  Salt  Eiver,  Michi- 
gan; September  13,  Upper  Wabash,  Veedersburg, 


Fifth  Election  as  Bishop  247 

Indiana ;  September  20,  Rock  River,  Adeline,  Illi- 
nois ;  September  29,  Fox  River,  Spring  Lake,  Wis- 
consin; October  4,  Wisconsin,  Rutland,  Wisconsin; 
October  11,  Minnesota,  Eyota,  Minnesota;  October 
19,  Dakota,  Pleasant  Valley,  Iowa ;  October  25,  Iowa, 
Toledo,  Iowa ;  ^November  1,  West  Des  Moines,  Davis 
City,  Iowa ;  ISTovember  8,  West  Nebraska,  Lone  Tree, 
Nebraska. 

In  his  report  for  the  Northwest  District  for  1881, 
he  says:  "I  have  been  permitted  to  complete  my 
round  of  conferences  in  twelve  weeks.  Excepting  a 
few  days,  I  enjoyed  good  health.  The  sessions  were 
generally  very  pleasant,  some  of  them  unusually  so. 
The  greatest  apparent  need  is  a  more  complete  conse- 
cration to  the  one  great  work  of  soul-saving.  Some 
of  the  ministers  realize  this,  and  are  earnestly  seek- 
ing for  a  baptism  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  If  all  would 
realize  it  as  they  should,  very  much  more  would  be  ac- 
complished. Strange  that  all  do  not  realize  the  true 
nature  of  the  work !  It  is  spiritual,  a  combat  between 
light  and  darkness.  A  soul  lost  in  sin  can  be  reached 
only  by  the  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  A  minister 
may  smite  with  his  fist,  stamp  with  his  foot,  or  raise 
his  voice  until  he  may  be  heard  for  half  a  mile,  but 
without  the  quickening  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  the 
souls  of  the  people  will  still  sleep  on.  It  is  the  power 
of  God  that  wakens  the  dead.  The  Spirit-power  will 
come  to  the  pulpit  whenever  the  minister  makes  a 
full  and  complete  consecration  to  God,  and  not  till 
then.  To  expect  this  God-power  before  we  receive 
the  baptism  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  is  to  expect  the  effect 


248  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

to  go  before  the  cause.  It  is  clearly  taught  that  we 
shall  receive  the  power  after  the  Holy  Spirit  has 
come." 

In  nearly  every  circumstance  he  can  find  something 
"to  point  a  moral  or  adorn  a  tale."  He  is  constantly 
on  the  lookout  for  some  incident,  illustration,  or 
event,  that  will  illustrate  some  phase  of  life,  and  he 
usually  finds  it.  The  man  who  is  looking  towards 
the  heavens  is  the  man  who  sees  the  stars.  Bishop 
Weaver  was  always  full  of  such  events,  and  scarcely 
anything  came  up  in  conversation  thiat  did  not  re- 
mind him  of  something  else.  While  sitting  in  the 
depot  waiting  for  a  train,  he  found  the  following, 
which,  doubtless,  put  inspiration  into  some  one  who 
read  it:  "Just  now  four  or  five  heavy  trains  from 
the  East  have  pulled  out  of  the  spacious  transfer 
depot  at  Council  Bluffs,  Iowa,  and  the  depot  police- 
man is  yelling  at  the  top  of  his  voice  to  the  crowd, 
'Hurry  up!  Keep  moving!'  Just  see  how  they 
crowd  along — men,  women,  and  children,  hundreds  of 
them,  jostling  against  each  other;  some  with  grip- 
sacks, and  some  with  bundles  larger  than  themselves, 
all  bent  on  going  somewhere ;  strangers  from  almost 
everywhere,  elbowing  their  way  through  the  crowd. 
Who  are  they,  and  where  are  they  going  ?  I  do  not 
know;  but  noticing  that  each  has  some  sort  of  nose, 
mouth,  eyes,  ears,  hands,  and  feet,  and  that  all  walk 
upright  and  face  forward,  I  conclude  that  they  all 
belong  to  the  same  race,  and  are  going  to  some  place, 
but  where  I  know  not.  All  doubtless  have  aims, 
hopes,  and  fears,  but  what  their  thoughts  are  I  can- 


Mfth  Election  as  Bishop  249 

not  imagine,  for  some  think  in  Dutch,  some  in  Irish, 
and  some  in — dear  knows  what !  but  all  are  thinking, 
just  because  they  cannot  help  it." 

And  now  comes  the  application  of  all  this,  for  the 
author  always  writes  with  a  purpose  in  view: 
"Preachers  who  want  to  succeed  must  keep  moving  on 
and  up  continually.  This  is  high  noonday.  Light  is 
pouring  in  from  every  nook  and  corner.  These  are 
the  brightest  and  clearest  days  this  world  has  known 
since  Adam  sinned,  and  yet  the  chronic  grumbler 
goes  whining  along  wishing  for  the  days  of  his  fa- 
thers. If  it  were  not  wicked,  I  could  wish  that  he 
might  wake  up  some  morning  and  find  himself  just 
fifty  years  behind  the  times. 

"Keep  moving ;  do  something ;  take  hold  anywhere 
and  lift,  not  only  until  you  see  stars,  but  until  you  see 
beyond  the  stars.  Every  department  of  Church  work 
is  suffering  for  want  of  earnest  workers.  We  have 
too  many  drowsy  preachers,  lazy  educators,  and  cold- 
hearted  men  and  women  in  the  Church.  If  you  can 
do  nothing  better,  then,  for  mercy's  sake,  get  out  of 
the  way;  get  down  into  some  comer  and  watch  the 
multitude ;  but  look  out  for  your  toes,  for  of  necessity 
the  passing  crowd  must  step  somewhere.  But  my 
time  is  up ;  the  train  is  ready,  and  I  must  be  moving 
or  I  will  be  left." 

In  opening  the  Michigan  Conference,  August  29, 
1883,  held  at  Salem  Church,  in  Allegan  County, 
Michigan,  he  alluded  to  the  changes  which  had  been 
wrought  in  the  eighteen  years  that  had  elapsed  since 
he  first  met  the  conference,  and  said  that  no  member 


250  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

of  the  conference  should  expect  to  work  eighteen 
years  more,  but  make  the  best  possible  use  of  the  pres- 
ent hour.  This  was  wisely  and  well  said.  How  many 
who  flatter  themselves  in  the  opportunities  of  the  fu- 
ture allow  the  present  hours  to  pass  unimproved ! 

His  conferences  this  season  were  held  as  follows: 
St.  Joseph,  August  22,  at  Lafayette,  Indiana;  Michi- 
gan, at  Salem  Church,  Allegan  County,  Michigan; 
North  Michigan,  September  5,  at  Lebanon,  Michi- 
gan; Kock  River,  September  19,  at  Vanorin,  Illinois; 
Fox  River,  September  28,  at  Eden,  Wisconsin;  Wis- 
consin, October  4,  at  Pleasant  Valley  Church,  Wis- 
consin; Dakota,  October  19,  at  Milltown,  Dakota; 
Iowa,  October  24,  at  Lisbon,  Iowa;  Minnesota,  at 
Cordova,  Minnesota;  West  Des  Moines,  October  31, 
at  Scranton,  Iowa ;  West  Nebraska,  at  Union  Chapel, 
Adams  County,  Nebraska. 

Before  beginning  the  fall  work,  and  perhaps  with 
a  thought  of  turning  the  minds  of  the  preachers  to 
their  great  work,  an  article  on  "Divine  Help"  ap- 
peared in  the  Telescope,  from  which  we  make  this 
extract : 

"The  greatest  and  most  difficult  work  on  earth  is  to 
win  a  soul  for  Christ.  It  seems  to  me  that  if  all  the 
ministers  in  our  land  were  under  the  immediate  di- 
vine direction,  scores  of  precious  souls  would  be  saved 
where  one  is  now.  Can  it  be  that  God  will  call 
men  into  the  field  and  permit  them  to  work  for  years 
under  his  direction  and  with  his  help,  and  no  souls  be 
saved?  There  seems  to  be  a  want  of  heart-earnest- 
ness in  the  pulpit  and  out  of  the  pulpit.     So  many 


Fifth  Election  as  Bishop  251 

are  holding  the  ministry  as  a  kind  of  profession ;  they 
follow  preaching  somewhat  as  a  mechanic  follows  his, 
trade ;  they  are  sound  in  doctrine  and  orderly  in  their 
walk,  but  souls  are  not  born  to  Christ  through  their 
instrumentality.  Every  one  should  ask,  on  his  knees 
before  God,  why  this  is  so.  The  pulpit  of  to-day  does 
not  fail  in  the  presentation  of  the  truth,  pure  and 
simple,  but  in  reaching  the  hearts  of  the  people  with 
the  truth.  This  can  be  done  only  by  the  power  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  We  must  have  this,  or  our  work  will 
not  succeed.  How  can  a  minister  content  himself 
with  preaching  day  in  and  day  out,  week  in  and  week 
out,  and  no  souls  won  to  Christ?  In  the  end  of  the 
harvest,  he  will  come  from  the  field,  but  where  are 
the  sheaves  ?" 

While  waiting  at  a  station,  in  Wisconsin,  for  a 
train  to  carry  him  to  his  next  conference,  possibly 
Fox  Eiver,  he  is  inspired  to  write  another  letter  to 
the  Telescope,  from  which  we  take  the  following  ex- 
tract: "In  passing  from  one  conference  to  another, 
I  notice  that  some  men  succeed  better  than  others. 
The  successful  men  are  not  always  the  most  talented. 
Some  men  succeed  almost  anywhere,  and  others 
hardly  succeed  at  all.  My  conclusion  is,  that,  as  a 
rule,  the  chief  difference  lies  in  the  differences  of 
their  consecration  to  the  work.  I  am  satisfied  some 
men  do  not  feel  the  awful  responsibility  of  their 
work.  By  this  consecration,  I  mean  one  whose  whole 
soul,  body,  time,  talents,  influence,  reputation,  prop- 
erty, and  family  are  devoted  to  the  one  grand  work 
of  saving  souls  to  Christ ;  less  than  this  on  the  human 


252  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

side  will  not  suffice.  When  all  this  is  laid  upon  the 
altar,  God  can,  and  will  accept  the  offering,  and  be- 
stow special  power.  I  am  tired  of  these  ragged  re- 
ports at  conference.  Not  a  few  of  them  report  dur- 
ing twelve  months  not  one  soul  won  to  Christ,  and 
half  the  interests  of  the  Church  neglected.  How 
long  would  it  take  such  men  to  win  the  world  to 
Christ?" 

Minnesota  Conference  met  in  October ;  it  had  en- 
rolled seventeen  itinerants  and  twelve  hundred  and 
six  members.  In  behalf  of  this  conference,  he  writes 
from  some  railroad  train :  ''I  am  now  on  my  way  to 
Dakota  Conference.  It  is  after  midnight  I  cannot 
say  just  whereabouts  on  the  road  I  am,  but  I  am  sure 
I  am  not  lost.  Minnesota  is  in  need  of  some  work- 
ers— not  drones.  They  need  men  who  are  willing  to 
make  some  sacrifices.  The  pay  is  not  large,  but  a 
faithful,  earnest  man  will  be  comfortably  sustained, 
and,  in  a  few  years,  will  be  well  supported.  One 
trouble  with  some  men  is,  they  are  not  willing  to  bear 
their  share  of  the  hardships.  A  feathered  nest  is  a 
nice  thing,  but  somebody  must  feather  it  It  is  ju&t 
as  religious  and  noble  to  feather  a  nest  for  somebody 
else  as  to  go  into  one  that  somebody  els©  has  feath- 
ered." 

He  briefly  tells  something  of  the  people  and  the 
kind  of  men  they  need:  "It  will  require  grit  and 
grace  and  common  sense  to  succeed  on  the  frontier. 
Sacrifices  will  have  to  be  made,  but  what  of  it? 
If  somebody  had  not  made  sacrifices  long  ago,  noth- 
ing would  have  been  accomplished.    The  demand  now 


Fifth  Election  as  Bishop  253 

is  for  men  to  volunteer  to  go  to  the  frontier  and  work 
for  Jesus.  Minnesota  is  an  inviting  field  to  men  who 
can  put  their  all  on  the  altar  and  work  for  souls.  The 
people  of  Minnesota  are  kind  and  generous,  and  pay 
more  money  in  proportion  to  their  members  and 
wealth  than  they  do  in  the  older  conferences." 

This  great  need  reminds  him  of  his  own  early  min- 
istry on  the  frontier,  and  what  it  cost  him.  It  will 
cost  no  more  to-day.  He  says :  ''If  I  were  twenty- 
five  years  younger,  and  felt  as  I  feel  now,  and  know 
what  I  know  now,  I  should  go  to  the  frontier.  It  is 
no  harder  than  it  was  on  the  frontier  in  Ohio,  forty 
years  ago.  My  first  mission  in  northern  Ohio  was  two 
hundred  miles  around,  with  seventeen  appointments, 
and  twenty-three  members,  all  told.  I  traveled  on 
horseback,  for  there  was  not  a  foot  of  railroad  in  that 
country,  but  I  lived  through  it,  and  had  a  splendid 
tima" 

As  to  who  is  responsible  for  this  indisposition  on 
the  part  of  young  men  to  seek  the  frontier,  he  is  not 
sure.  He  says :  "There  seems  to  be  something  wrong 
in  the  training  of  our  young  men.  They  are  not  im- 
pressed with  the  necessity  of  going  to  the  front.  I 
believe  I  will  lay  the  blame  on  Dr.  Davis.  He  is,  I 
believe  the  oldest  educator  in  the  Church,  and  started 
the  ball  rolling ;  and  now,  of  scores  of  young  men  at- 
tending our  colleges  and  Seminary  with  a  view  to  the 
ministry,  scarcely  one  of  them  goes  to  the  front.  Our 
educators  should  turn  a  new  leaf  by  urging  young 
men  to  turn  their  thoughts  to  the  frontier.  Maybe 
they  do  occasionally  refer  to  it,  but  I  think  they  are 


254  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

too  lamb-like  in  their  counsel.  Will  the  doctor  and 
his  colaborers  in  the  educational  work  please  wake  up 
and  take  the  hint,  or  must  they  all  be  discharged  for 
neglect  of  duty  ?" 

His  heart  constantly  goes  out  to  these  frontier  peo- 
ple, who  are  building  up  the  civilization  of  the  great 
West,  and  are  asking  for  the  bread  of  life  at  the 
hands  of  the  United  Brethren  preachers,  and  the 
bishop  has  none  to  send  them.  At  the  close  of  the 
Dakota  Conference,  held  in  Milltown,  Dakota,  Oc- 
tober 19,  1883,  he  makes  another  earnest  appeal: 
"We  must  have  help  on  this  field,  or  fail.  This  is  a 
grand  country,  and  is  settling  up  rapidly.  Many 
of  our  people  have  moved  in  here,  and  we  have  no 
ministers  to  send  them.  The  whole  field  is  open,  and 
no  one  to  occupy  it.  Are  there  not  a  few  men  whom 
God  has  called  into  the  ministry,  and  who  are  not 
engaged  in  the  active  work,  who  could  come  here  and 
work  for  Jesus  ?  We  want  earnest  men,  and  not  men 
seeking  ease  and  comfort ;  we  want  men  of  God,  will- 
ing to  make  some  sacrifice  for  Christ's  sake.  With 
half  a  dozen  more  earnest  workers,  we  could  soon 
make  this  a  self-supporting  conference.  Those  who 
go  to  Africa,  that  dark  heathen  land,  make  sacrifices 
that  are  worthy  the  name.  In  this  beautiful  and 
healthful  country,  the  sacrifices  are  not  to  be  com- 
pared to  them.  What  if  a  dozen  or  two  of  miles  lie 
between  appointments  ?  What  if  some  are  poor  and 
have  but  little  means  ?  What  if  some  of  their  homes 
are  small  ?  To  balance  all  this,  the  people  are  kind 
and  generous,  and  a  good,  faithful  man  of  God  will  be 


Fifth  Election  as  Bishop  255 

kept  above  want,  and,  in  a  few  years,  will  be  well 
sustained." 

At  the  close  of  the  year,  he  makes  his  report  of  the 
Northwest  District,  as  follows :  ''My  district  is  com- 
posed of  fourteen  conferences,  twelve  of  which  I  have 
held  in  the  last  twelve  weeks.  To  make  this  round 
of  conferences,  I  had  to  travel  nearly  seven  thousand 
miles.  God  has  been  very  good  to  me,  and  here  I 
wish  to  record,  to  the  praise  of  the  Heavenly  Father, 
that  in  nineteen  years  of  travel,  including  two  trips 
to  the  Pacific  Coast,  I  have  not,  in  all  these  years, 
missed  a  conference.  I  never  felt  more  like  singing 
that  old  doxology  than  now.  The  conference  sessions 
this  fall  have  been  unusually  pleasant.  With  but  few 
exceptions,  peace  and  harmony  prevailed.  The  Dis- 
cipline of  the  Church,  in  the  main,  is  respected  and 
well  observed  in  all  the  conferences.  There  was  mani- 
fest at  all  the  sessions  an  earnest  desire  for  a  general 
revival  of  religion.  I  shall  expect  to  hear  of  gracious 
revivals  during  the  year.  In  spite  of  all  my  imperfec- 
tions, I  received  nothing  but  marks  of  kindness  from 
first  to  last.  It  did  seem  that  all  were  baptized  by 
one  Spirit  into  one  body.  I  often  felt  the  force  of 
David's  words,  'Behold,  how  good  and  how  pleasant 
it  is  for  brethren  to  dwell  together  in  unity.'  " 

And  yet,  there  were  things  that,  as  a  bishop  inter- 
ested in  the  welfare  of  the  Church,  he  could  but  re- 
gret: "The  only  discouraging  feature  is  the  pressing 
need  of  additional  laborers  in  the  northwest.  The 
harvest  is  very  great  and  fully  ripe,  but  the  laborers 
are  few — few  when  compared  with  the  great  number 


256  Biography  of  Jonathan  'Weaver 

of  the  unsaved.  Would  that  the  Lord  of  the  harvest 
would  send  out  more  workers.  The  need  is  for  ear- 
nest men,  men  of  God,  men  of  one  work." 

The  work  done,  he  thinks,  entitles  him  to  a  little 
respite,  and  he  £ays :  "I  feel  the  need  of  a  little  rest, 
and  trust  the  good  brothers  will  excuse  me  if  I  remain 
at  home  for  a  few  weeks.  My  heart  is  as  young  and 
fresh  as  ever,  but  I  cannot  endure  constant  work  as 
I  did  years  ago.  It  seems  to  me  that  it  requires  more 
grace  to  remain  at  home  for  a  few  weeks  than  it  does 
to  go." 

He  reports  for  his  district:  Itinerant  preachers, 
344;  local,  261;  members,  29,337;  an  increase  for 
the  year  of  1,132 ;  children  in  the  Sabbath  school, 
27,574;  teachers  and  officers,  4,982. 

This  reference  which  he  makes  as  to  his  age  gives 
us  occasion  to  introduce  his  own  statement  as  to  where 
he  was  at  this  period :  "A  few  days  ago,  I  passed  the 
fifty-ninth  mile-stone  in  my  pilgrimage  from  the 
cradle  to  the  grave.  Something  tells  me  I  am  getting 
old,  but  I  mean  to  die  young.  My  heart  and  spirit,  so 
far  as  I  know  myself,  are  just  as  young  and  buoyant 
as  forty  years  ago.  Some  one  said  to  Mr.  Venn,  'Sir, 
I  think  you  are  on  the  wrong  side  of  fifty.'  'No,  sir,' 
answered  Mr.  Venn,  'I  am  on  the  right  side  of  fifty.' 
'But,  surely,  you  must  be  turned  of  fifty.'  'Yes,  sir, 
but  I  am  on  the  right  side  of  fifty,  for  every  year  I 
live  I  am  nearer  my  crown  of  glory.' 

"Never  in  my  life  have  I  had  more  of  the  spirit  of 
work  in  me  than  now.  Yes,  if  need  be,  I  could  sit  up 
at  night  and  work  for  the  Master.     What  seems  to 


Fifth  Election  as  Bishop  257 

trouble  me  most  is,  I  get  too  little  done.  Life  is  go- 
ing, and  I  will  soon  be  gone,  and  what  have  I  done  ? 
Maybe  in  the  end  I  shall  know  that  I  won  a  few  souls 
to  Jesus.  That  will  be  more  to  me  than  if  I  had 
won  an  earthly  kingdom.  A  few  weeks  ago,  as  I  sat 
•down  and  looked  into  the  face  of  Dr.  Davis,  and  lis- 
tened to  his  kind,  gentle  words,  while,  ever  and  anon, 
tears  would  fill  his  eyes,  I  said  to  myself,  'The  old 
doctor  is  on  the  right  side  of  fifty,  and  will  die  young.' 
Dr.  Judson  said,  as  he  neared  the  river,  'I  am  not 
tired  of  my  work,  neither  am  I  tired  of  the  world, 
yet  when  Christ  calls  me  home,  I  shall  go  with  the 
gladness  of  a  boy  bounding  away  from  school' " 
(Telescope,  March  28,  1883). 

This,  as  would  be  natural,  brings  up  some  of  the 
memories  of  the  past:  "Of  the  members  who  be- 
longed to  the  Muskingum  Conference  when  I  joined, 
all  are  gone.  Through  the  abundant  mercy  of  God, 
I  have  not  been  local  a  day  in  all  these  years.  If 
health  and  strength  would  permit,  I  would  be  willing 
to  contract  for  forty  years  more  of  itinerant  work.  I 
have  often  been  tired  in  the  work,  but  never  tired  of 
it.  Of  the  Church,  I  have  not  a  word  of  complaint  to 
make.  I  was  only  a  poor  boy  when  I  entered  the  min- 
istry. I  have  held  my  own  all  the  way  along.  I  have 
not  given  a  fortune  to  the  Church,  for  I  had  none  to 
give.  All  that  I  have  given  is  my  life,  thus  far,  and, 
by  contract  with  the  Master,  whatever  of  life  remains 
is  to  be  given  to  the  work.  I  have  had  food  and  rai- 
ment, if  not  always  the  best,  it  was  better  than  I 
deserved.'^ 


258  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

He  never  failed  to  put  in  a  plea  for  the  missionary, 
whether  home  or  foreign,  whenever  he  needs  it.  He 
writes,  April  18,  1883,  of  the  privations  of  our  men, 
on  the  frontier:  "Many  of  our  earnest,  faithful 
workers  have  suffered  not  only  from  the  severe  cold, 
but  from  actual  want.  I  am  personally  acquainted 
with  many  of  the  ministers  in  northern  Michigan, 
Wisconsin,  Minnesota,  Dakota,  ISTebraska,  and  Colo- 
rada  Many  of  them  are  faithful,  earnest  workers,, 
and  the  sacrifices  they  have  made  none  can  realize  but 
themselves.  Most  of  them  have  held  on,  but  some 
have  been  compelled  to  leave  their  work,  while  others 
are  somewhat  disheartened,  and  think  they  will  be 
compelled  to  abandon  their  fields  in  the  near  future. 
Many  of  our  frontier  workers  with  large  families  re- 
ceive  from  fifty  dollars  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  dol- 
lars a  year.  Do  you  ask  me  how  they  live  ?  I  frankly 
say,  I  do  not  know.  There  never  was  a  time  when 
so  many  people  were  moving  westward  as  now.  Shall 
the  Board  call  in  some  of  the  missionaries  and  aban- 
don some  of  the  territory  already  occupied?  What 
would  the  Master  say  ?" 


CHAPTEE  XV. 

The  Gathekinq  Storm. 

We  have  seen  that  during  the  last  ten  or  more 
years  there  was  a  growing  dissatisfaction  with  the 
antisecrecy  law  of  the  Church.  When  a  man  came 
into  the  Church,  it  had  to  be  by  consent  of  the  mem- 
bership. To  make  it  possible  for  the  pastor  to  put 
him  out  of  his  own  accord  seemed  so  un-American, 
so  opposed  to  all  principles  of  justice  and  individual 
liberty,  that  many  men  were  unwilling  to  enforce  it. 
To  say  that  it  could  be  submitted  to  the  class,  and 
that  they  could  vote  in  the  affirmative  for  expulsion, 
but  not  in  the  negative,  was  no  better,  for  it  was  no 
real  vote  at  all. 

In  September,  1873,  an  independent  journal, 
called  the  United  Brethren  Tribune^  was  started  as 
an  advocate  of  lay  and  pro  rata  representation  in 
General  Conference,  and  for  a  modification  of  the 
law  concerning  secret  societies.  It  was  not  an  ad- 
vocate of  secret  societies,  as  its  enemies  reported,  but 
of  a  more  rational  method  of  dealing  with  them.  In 
an  early  issue,  one  of  the  corresponding  editors 
wrote:  "We  think  our  law  connected  with  what  we 
define  secret  combinations,  whether  so  or  not,  even 
the  Sons  of  Temperance,  Good  Templars,  Trades 
Unions,  Farmers'  Granges,  Grand  Army  of  the  Re- 


260  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

public,  is  needlessly  severe;  brings  us  into  merited 
disrepute  before  the  more  intelligent  classes  of  the 
country;  stands  as  an  almost  insurmoimtable  barrier 
to  our  entrance  into  cities ;  divides  and  destroys  many 
of  our  long-established  churches ;  alienates  brethren ; 
and,  contrary  to  the  Bible  and  the  noblest  aspirations 
of  the  human  soul,  attempts  to  put  fetters  on  the 
conscience  and  reason  of  men  made  in  the  image  of 
God." 

Another  editor  thus  expresses  himself:  "Either 
the  secrecy  law  must  be  obeyed  and  executed,  or  it 
must  be  ignored.  If  it  be  carried  into  execution,  the 
best  congregations  in  the  Church  will  be  broken  up ; 
disaster  and  ruin  will  be  the  result.  .  .  .  The 
prospect  is  beginning  to  brighten.  We  see  signs  of 
the  morning  dawning.  A  great  change  for  good  is 
being  wrought  in  the  minds  of  our  people,  and  soon 
will  they  rise  up  in  the  strength  of  their  might  and 
declare  the  Church  shall  be  no  longer  trammeled  by 
this  unnatural  law."  This  writer  advised  a  non- 
execution  of  the  law  as  the  best  thing  to  be  done. 

Another,  discussing  the  law  as  passed  at  Lebanon, 
Pennsylvania,  said :  "It  will  be  an  occcasion  of  strife 
as  long  as  it  remains.  It  will  invite  needless  ex- 
ternal opposition,  and  foment  internal  discord.  Its 
stringent  enforcement  (which  will  never  occur)  will 
cost  us  thousands  of  good  members ;  and  if  the  legis- 
lation of  the  General  Conference  is  found  to  be  im- 
practicable, and  not  sustained  by  the  average  senti- 
ment of  the  Church,  let  the  General  Conference  cor- 
rect its  errors." 


The  Gathering  Storm  261 

The  men  who  edited  and  controlled  this  paper 
were  men  of  conviction  and  ability,  and  their  teach- 
ings, no  doubt,  produced  an  effect,  and  helped  the 
sooner  to  bring  on  the  final  conflict.  With  this  bone 
of  contention  out  of  the  way,  other  matters  in  the 
Church  could  have  been  adjusted.  It  was  not  out  of 
the  way,  and,  instead  of  seeking  to  harmonize  by 
moderating  the  severity  of  the  law,  every  opportunity 
that  came  the  screw  was  given  another  twist  There 
could  be  but  one  result — something  must  give  way. 

Said  a  correspondent  in  1883:  "One  extreme  be- 
gets another.  If  one  party  leads  out  in  the  conflict, 
it  must  not  be  supposed  that  the  other  will  remain 
neutral.  heedless  agitation  should  always  be 
avoided.  The  middle  ground  should  be  sought  by 
us,  as  it  best  represents  the  true  sentiments  of  the 
Church,  and,  having  found  it,  hands  should  be 
plighted  in  the  great  mission  of  soul-saving.  We 
must  agree  to  be  brethren.  We  cannot  afford  now  to 
divide,  and  lose  the  toils  and  sacrifices  of  a  century. 
The  achievements  of  the  past  and  the  memories  of 
our  sacred  dead  forbid  such  a  calamity." 

If  any  man  tried  to  find  out  the  real  sentiment  of 
the  Church,  it  was  Bishop  Weaver,  and  he  learned  to 
know  it  as  no  other  man,  perhaps,  did.  For  a  num- 
ber of  years  he  had  been  witnessing  the  trouble 
caused  by  enforcing  the  law,  and  was  seeking  to  find 
some  golden  mean  on  which  both  sides  could  harmon- 
ize and  allay  the  bitter  feeling  in  the  Church.  The 
first  year  after  he  was  elected  bishop,  he  was  holding 
a  meeting  in  Roanoke,  Indiana.    After  the  meeting, 


262  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

a  number  presented  themselves  for  membership  in 
the  Church,  among  the  number  a  man  and  wife.  The 
man  informed  him  that  he  was  a  Mason,  and  Bishop 
Weaver  told  him  he  could  not  take  him  in.  This 
was  a  very  perplexing  situation.  It  happened  to 
him  elsewhere,  as  it  happened  to  hundreds  of  others. 
He  and  Dr.  Davis  were  personal  friends,  Dr. 
Davis  representing  the  most  radical  wing  of  the 
Church,  and  Bishop  Weaver  the  more  moderate.  He 
presented  to  Dr.  Davis,  one  day,  a  case  like  the  fol- 
lowing, which  happened  more  than  once,  and  asked 
his  advice,  but  he  did  not  receive  it :  "For  example, 
here  is  a  young  man  who  has  completed  his  course 
in  the  Seminary,  and  has  a  personal  debt  on  him  in- 
curred in  securing  his  education.  He  wants  to  find 
a  place  to  preach  where  he  can  do  good,  and  save  a 
little  money  to  pay  his  debts.  I  go  into  the  station- 
ing committee  with  this  on  my  mind,  and  finally  I 
find  a  mission  field  which  he  can  fill.  The  member- 
ship is  small,  but  they  can  pay  something,  and,  be- 
sides this,  the  conference  will  make  an  appropriation. 
He  works  faithfully,  and  has  an  interesting  revival. 
The  outlook  is  hopeful  every  way.  He  opens  the 
doors  of  the  Church,  and  some  women  and  children 
come  in,  while  the  men  go  elsewhere.  They  belong 
to  the  Sons  of  Temperance,  the  Grand  Army,  or  some 
other  organization  of  that  kind,  and  cannot  be  re- 
ceived. The  young  man  is  discouraged.  He  has 
worked  hard  and  faithfully,  and  others  have  received 
the  result  of  his  labors.  He  wants  to  pull  out  of 
the  Church,  and  go  elsewhere.     iN'ow,  what  shall  I 


The  Gathering  Stortn  263 

say  to  him  to  keep  him  faithful  to  the  Church  and  to 
encourage  him  to  go  forward  ?" 

Bishop  Dickson  was  present  when  this  conversa- 
tion occurred.  Dr.  Davis  had  listened  to  Bishop 
Weaver,  and  then  told  him,  in  reply,  the  story  which 
Lincoln  is  reported  to  have  used  when  he  was  asked 
what  to  do  with  the  contrabands,  and  he  replied,  in 
substance,  as  follows:  "If  I  were  plowing  in  a 
stumpy  field,  and  found  a  stump  which  had  partly 
rotted  away,  and  its  roots  did  not  take  very  strong 
hold,  I  would  hitch  to  it  and  pull  it  out,  so  it  would 
not  disturb  me  any  more.  If  it  were  a  stiff,  solid 
stump,  which  I  could  not  pull  out,  I  would  go  around 
it  If  I  did  not,  I  might  break  my  plow  and  not 
be  able  to  do  any  more  plowing."  After  listening  to 
the  story.  Bishop  Dickson  replied,  "Yes,  but  the 
stump  is  there,  all  the  same." 

It  was  either  during  the  year  1882  or  the  early 
part  of  1883  that  Dr.  Davis,  in  communication  with 
Bishop  Weaver,  urged  that  they  two  go  into  the  Tele- 
scope and  discuss  the  question  as  to  what  sort  of  leg- 
islation touching  the  secrecy  question  would  be  the 
best  for  the  Church.  It  seemed  to  the  bishop,  on 
reflection,  that  this  might  be  a  good  thing  to  do.  It 
took  some  time  and  correspondence  to  state  the  matter 
so  as  to  be  satisfactory  to  both.  Bishop  Weaver  was 
anxious  to  arrange  so  that  Dr.  Davis  should  have  the 
affirmative,  but  the  latter  declined  to  do  this,  and 
pressed  the  bishop  to  affirm,  which  he  finally  agreed 
to  do.  Bishop  Weaver  went  to  work  to  prepare  his 
first  article,  and  wrote  and  rewrote  it,  until  he  had 


264  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

it  about  ready  to  print  At  this  time,  a  letter  was 
received  from  Dr.  Davis,  in  which  he  declined  to  dis- 
cuss the  matter,  as  formerly  agreed  upon,  alleging  as 
a  reason  that  Bishop  Weaver  was  well  known  in  the 
Church,  and  that  he  was  known  to  but  a  small  circle, 
and  that  therefore  Bishop  Weaver  would  have  the 
advantage  of  him.  On  the  receipt  of  this  letter. 
Bishop  Weaver  wrote  Dr.  Davis  that  he  had  his  first 
article  prepared,  and,  as  they  were  personal  friends, 
both  anxious  for  the  good  of  the  Church,  he  would 
send  it  to  him  to  read,  which  he  did.  Dr.  Davis,  even 
after  reading  it,  declined  to  proceed  any  further. 
After  some  little  delay,  Bishop  Weaver  wrote  him 
again,  and  said  that,  as  he  had  already  prepared  this 
one  article,  he  would  publish  it,  and  perhaps  another 
one  or  two,  without  any  thought  of  controversy.  In 
spite  of  all  this,  after  Bishop  Weaver's  article  ap- 
peared in  print.  Dr.  Davis  replied  to  him. 

The  position  of  Bishop  Weaver,  made  known  to 
Dr.  Davis  through  his  communication,  may  have  in- 
spired the  communication  of  Dr.  Davis  in  the  Tele- 
scope,  January  11,  1884,  on  "Our  Rule,"  from  which 
we  make  this  extract :  "Our  fathers  maintained  this 
position  [opposition  to  secrecy],  and  so  can  we.  To 
surrender  now  would  be  disgraceful  in  the  extreme.- 
Some  think  if  this  question  is  let  alone,  it  will  settle 
itself.  Did  slavery  go  down  by  letting  it  alone  ? 
Let  us  not  be  deceived  by  this  dangerous  and  treach- 
erous policy.  It  will  prove  a  snare  and  a  crime.  If 
we  do  not  wish  to  affiliate  with  secret  orders,  let  us 
say  so,  and  act  accordingly. 


The  Gathering  Storm  265 

"But  what  shall  we  say  of  those  who  profess  to 
believe  that  these  secret  orders  are  evil  in  their  na- 
ture, and  yet  adopt  the  say-nothing  and  do-nothing 
policy  respecting  these  corrupt  and  dangerous  orders  ? 
Could  inconsistency  be  more  gross  and  palpable  ? 
There  are  also  others  who  are  bold  and  defiant  in 
their  opposition  to  the  constitution  and  rule  of  the 
Church.  The  let-alone  policy  is  also  applied  to  them. 
I  hold,  these  abuses  ought  to  be  corrected.  If  it  can- 
not be  done,  church  authority  among  us  is  little  more 
than  a  rope  of  sand." 

This  was  the  occasion  for  Bishop  Weaver  writing 
the  first  of  his  "Outlook"  articles.  He  was  then  liv- 
ing at  Lisbon,  Iowa.  He  rewrote  and  rewrote  until 
it  was  as  well  done  as  he  thought  he  could  make  it. 
He  laid  it  away  for  a  time,  to  reflect  over  it,  then 
read  it  to  friends,  among  the  rest,  Rev.  I.  K.  Statton, 
then  residing  at  Lisbon.  Mr.  Statton  said  to  him: 
"Don't  you  publish  it.  It  is  the  very  thing  that 
should  be  said,  but  I  don't  want  you  to  say  it.  It 
will  kill  you."  Bishop  Weaver  replied,  "It  don't 
matter  what  becomes  of  me ;  if  it  is  the  right  thing 
to  do,  it  should  be  done."  It  was  then  sent  to  Dr. 
Hott,  editor  of  the  Telescope,  and  he  was  asked  to 
counsel  with  W.  J.  Shuey  and  some  other  friends, 
and  then  advise  him  what  they  thought  of  it  They 
agreed  that  it  should  be  published,  and  so  advised 
him.  He  acted  upon  their  judgment,  and  published 
the  article,  which  fell  like  a  thunderbolt  in  the  camp 
of  the  more  radical  men,  but  was  a  signal  for  rejoic- 
ing among  the  more  moderate.    It  was  a  ray  of  hope 


266  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

to  them  in  a  dark  night.  When  it  was  published,  he 
received  a  numbei*  of  complimentary  letters,  as  well 
as  some  that  were  not.  All  of  these  were  destroyed, 
the  latter,  as  he  said,  because  he  did  not  want  any 
one  to  see  them.  After  all  this  previous  correspond- 
ence, Dr.  Davis  took  up  his  article  and  replied  to  it. 
So  they  had  their  discussion  through  the  paper,  after 
all. 

The  first  and  more  moderate  of  his  "Outlook"  ar- 
ticles appeared  in  the  Telescope  August  22,  1883. 
In  this  he  speaks  of  his  opportunity  for  knowing  the 
average  sentiment  of  the  Church.  Men  differ  in 
opinion  as  to- the  best  means  of  dealing  with  secret 
organizations.  Of  those  he  has  met,  not  half  a  dozen 
have  shown  any  sympathy  with  secrecy  itself.  He 
shows  that  he  has  been  unjustly  assailed.  He  cannot 
consent  to  denounce  men  who  are  good  men,  and  with 
whom  he  has  labored  for  years.  He  makes  a  few  sug- 
gestions: "(1)  Let  men  of  God  who  have  carefully 
studied  the  whole  question  point  out  the  evil  nature 
and  tendency  of  secret  organization.  Let  this  be 
done  in  the  name  and  spirit  of  Christ.  (2)  Let  those 
who  believe  that  our  present  law  is  not  what  it  ought 
to  be,  formulate  a  law  based  upon  what  they  may 
conceive  to  be  the  principles  and  spirit  of  the  gos- 
pel of  Jesus,  and  submit  it  to,  and  for  the  considera- 
ton  of  the  Church.  If  men  will  only  stop,  think,  and 
pray,  there  will  be  found  a  true  basis  upon  which  the 
great  majority  of  our  people  can,  and  will  stand.  (3) 
Let  all  the  true  and  tried  friends  of  the  Church  rise 
up  in  the  spirit  of  the  Master,  and  demand  that  this 


The  Gathering  Storm  267 

wholesale  way  of  denouncing  the  brethren  who  see 
differently  from  themselves  must  be  stopped." 

In  the  issue  for  Septembei-  26,  1883,  Rev.  W.  W. 
Knipple  takes  exception  to  the  statements  of  Bishop 
Weaver,  and  intimates  therein  that  he  had  not  been 
very  rigid  in  looking  after  the  execution  of  the  law 
of  the  Church,  and  that  his  sympathies  seem  to  be 
with  those  who  are  not  enforcing  it. 

In  the  issue  for  October  10,  the  bishop  recognizes 
Knipple's  article  in  a  very  brief  note,  and  says :  "We 
do  not  see  alike  what  ought  to  be  done  in  a  case  of 
this  kind.  One  way  of  fixing  it  would  be  for  me  to 
denounce  him  in  bitter  terms,  and  then  he  in  like 
manner  denounce  me,  and  end  up  by  politely  inviting 
each  other  to  leave  the  Church — all  because  we  can- 
not agree.    That  would  be  unity  with  a  vengeance. 

"I  did  not  write  with  a  view  to  entering  into  con- 
troversy, and  shall  not  do  it.  His  deductions  from 
the  principles  I  laid  down  may  be  strictly  logical, 
even  though  I  may  not  comprehend  it.  His  imagina- 
tion is  certainly  very  fine.  But  the  future — and  may 
be  the  near  future — will  demonstrate  who  is  right. 
The  Lord  reigns,  and  all  will  be  well." 

This  may  be  a  good  place  to  introduce  an  extract 
from  one  of  his  communications  on  "Fault-Finding" : 
"I  remember  to  have  read  of  a  service  that  was  held 
by  the  Quakers,  or  Friends.  They  sat  quietly  for  a 
long  time,  as  is  their  custom.  Finally  the  Spirit 
moved  a  woman  to  speak.  She  arose  in  her  place 
and  said :  ^My  friends,  I  think  we  ought  all  to  turn 
our  sacks  end  for  end.     We  each  carry  a  sack,  and 


268  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

carefully  put  in  our  own  faults  in  the  bottom  and 
throw  it  over  our  shoulders.  Then  we  put  our  neigh- 
bors' faults  in  the  mouth  of  the  sack;  we  just  hold 
them  with  our  hands,  so  that  at  any  time  we  can  let 
out  these  faults.  Suppose  we  change  the  sack  end  for 
end,  and  get  our  own  in  front.'  " 

He  was  always  an  earnest  advocate  of  revivals. 
While  residing  at  Lisbon,  a  wonderful  revival  oc- 
curred, and  this  gave  him  an  occasion  for  an  article, 
in  which  he  says :  "I  give  it  as  my  opinion  that  when 
scores  of  souls  are  born  into  the  kingdom  there  will 
be  some  demonstration.  Some  pass  from  darkness 
into  light  in  a  very  quiet  way,  but  it  is  not  so,  and 
cannot  be  so  in  every  case.  It  requires  a  tremendous 
power  to  renew  a  soul.  Nothing  less  than  the  power 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  can  do  it.  In  the  gracious  revival 
now  in  progress  in  this  place  (Lisbon),  when  over 
one  hundred  souls  have  been  converted,  I  have  been  at 
the  altar  when  scores  of  them  were  saved.  Some 
were  calm,  some  wept,  and  some  gave  expression  more 
vigorously.  One  man  nearly  eighty  years  old  was 
among  the  converts.  I  chanced  to  be  near  him  when 
the  blessing  came.  I  shall  never  forget  his  counte- 
nance when,  with  trembling  limbs,  he  arose  and  looked 
around,  tears  running  from  his  eyes,  and  exclaimed, 
'I  am  saved,  oh,  how  light !  Glory  to  God !'  I  do 
not  advocate  excitement  for  the  sake  of  excitement. 
I  only  advocate  thorough  revivals  of  religion,  and  it 
is  my  opinion  that  when  scores  of  souls  are  saved  by 
the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  there  will  be  some  vis- 
ible stir." 


The  Gathering  Storm  269 

There  comes  a  gentle  admonition  for  those  who 
want  an  improvement  on  the  old  methods:  "There 
is  a  kind  of  itching  to  be  like  somebody  else,  but  this 
proves  a  miserable  failure.  It  is  like  some  young 
preachers  who  try  to  preach  like  somebody  else,  and 
the  result  is,  they  are  themselves,  and  they  cannot 
be  like  somebody  else,  and  they  are  very  nearly  no- 
body. God  has  something  for  us  to  do,  and  we  want 
to  do  it  in  our  own.  way.  Along  this  line  we  always 
did  succeed.  If  we  undertake  to  work  on  somebody 
else's  line,  we  shall  fail.  Presbyterians  have  a  tre- 
mendous work  to  do  in  their  way,  and  they  are  doing 
it.  But  we  must  not  undertake  to  do  as  they  do. 
Our  ecclesiastical  machinery  is  not  adjusted  to  use 
on  their  truck.  We  must,  under  God,  do  our  work  in 
our  own  way." 

During  March,  1884,  he  assisted  Eev.  G.  F.  Deal 
in  holding  a  two-weeks'  meeting  at  Canal  Dover, 
Ohio,  in  the  bounds  of  his  own  conference.  In  May, 
he  addressed  the  students  of  the  Union  Biblical  Semi- 
nary on  the  subject  of  "Winning  Souls."  Says  the 
editor  of  the  Telescope:  "This  discourse  was  pre- 
pared with  great  care,  and  delivered  with  that  clear- 
ness and  beauty  of  style  which  is  knovra  to  belong 
to  the  bishop  in  so  marked  a  degree.  It  was,  of 
course,  directed  to  the  students  of  the  Seminary,  and 
its  aim  was  to  lead  them  to  a  fresh  and  thorough  con- 
secration to  the  work  of  winning  souls,  and  to  direct 
them  in  the  most  successful  methods  of  accomplishing 
this  work.  No  one  is  more  fitted  to  speak  to  our 
young  men  on  such  a  theme  than  Bishop  Weaver. 


270  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

.  .  .  He  is  in  better  health,  and  looks  well.  The 
past  year  has  been  one  of  earnest  work  on  his  dis- 
trict. He  has  borne  the  work  well,  though  his  marked 
iron  gray  locks  indicate  that  quadrenniums  have 
passed  since  the  miter  was  placed  on  his  head." 

He  was  not  a  little  stirred  at  times,  and  especially 
when  holding  the  frontier  conferences,  to  find  some 
very  able-bodied  men  who  had  retired  from  the  min- 
istry. They  do  good  service  for  a  time,  and  then 
drift  into  some  other  business.  In  his  judgment,  men 
should  continue  in  the  ministry  as  long  as  they  are 
able.  He  approved  of  the  opinion  of  Dr.  Adam 
Clarke,  that  "as  every  genuine  preacher  receives  his 
commission  from  God  alone,  it  is  God  alone  who  can 
take  it  away.  Woe  to  the  man  who  runs  when  God 
has  not  sent  him ;  and  woe  to  the  man  who  refuses  to 
run,  or  who  ceases  to  run  when  God  has  sent  him." 

He  himself  thus  writes:  "So  far  as  I  know,  all 
the  apostles  continued  in  the  work  until  death.  Men 
not  a  few  have  retired  from  the  work  more  for  the 
purpose  of  making  money  than  anything  else.  They 
were  abundantly  able  to  run  a  store,  or  do  a  good 
day's  work  on  a  farm.  As  a  rule,  you  will  find  that 
class  of  men  to  be  a  little  harder  on  the  itinerants 
than  any  other  person ;  they  are  so  hard  to  suit.  An 
old,  worn-out  minister,  who  has  been  faithful  until 
he  could  work  no  more,  is  usually  kind  and  sympa- 
thetic; but  many  of  these  half-worn-out  men,  who 
quit  the  active  work  because  they  can  make  more 
money  at  something  else,  are  often  snarly  and  almost 
unfeeling  toward  others.    ISTothing  on  earth  is  more 


The  Gathering  Storm  271 

to  be  admired  than  a  firm,  kind-hearted,  cheerful  old 
minister ;  but  the  Lord  deliver  me  from  an  old  snarl." 

This  only  prepared  the  way  for  a  more  positive 
statement  of  his  own  convictions :  "Before  any  man 
retires  from  the  active  work,  he  should  take  counsel  at 
the  throne  of  grace.  It  is  not  a  matter  that  any  man 
can  afford  to  trifle  with.  I  give  it  as  my  opinion  that 
no  man  ought  to  retire  as  long  as  he  is  able  to  per- 
form the  work  of  a  minister.  There  may  be  some 
exceptions,  but  they  are  few.  Those  whom  God  calls 
to  the  work,  if  they  are  faithful  and  true,  will  find 
a  place  in  the  Church  as  long  as  they  are  able  to  do 
anything.  The  most  useful  ministers  the  world  has 
ever  had  were  those  who  worked  on  until  they  died. 
Luther,  Wesley,  Otterbein,  and  Asbury  worked  until 
they  could  work  no  more.  The  last  public  act  of 
Bishop  Otterbein  was  to  ordain  a  few  brethren  to 
the  office  of  elders  in  the  Church.  When  Bishop  New- 
comer was  old  and  feeble,  he  made  an  effort  to  reach 
Virginia  Conference,  but  his  strength  failed  him,  antl 
ten  days  afterwards  he  died  in  the  work.  I  trust  I 
have  no  improper  ambition.  I  think  I  am  willing 
to  die  poor,  if  need  be ;  but  I  do  want  to  die  in  the 
active  work."  The  Lord  granted  him  his  request,  and 
he  died  in  the  active  work. 

Elsewhere  we  have  referred  to  his  assisting  in  a 
meeting  at  Canal  Dover,  Ohio,  March,  1884.  Con- 
cerning this  meeting  he  said:  "Twenty-nine  years 
ago  (1855),  I  was  stationed  at  this  place;  twenty- 
seven  years  ago,  I  removed  from  this  place.  The 
river  that  runs  beside  the  town  seems  as  young  as  it 


272  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

did  twenty-seven  years  ago ;  nearly  all  else  is  changed. 
Those  that  were  children  then  have  grown  up,  and, 
have  families.  Those  that  were  then  in  the  prime  of 
life  are  now  old  and  feeble  men,  and  some  have  fallen 
asleep.  Those  who  were  called  old  then  have  gone 
beyond.  .  .  .  The  dear  Master  has  been  with  us 
in  this  meeting,  and  a  number  of  souls  were  saved  and 
joined  the  Church.  We  were  on  the  old  line — 'the 
mourner's  bench.'  There  was  good  singing,  loud 
praying,  and  a  small  amount  of  shouting.  I  have 
known  some  of  these  brethren  for  many  years. 
Forty-three  years  ago  (1841),  when  I  was  at  the 
mourner's  bench,  this  Brother  Stauffer  prayed  for 
me.  God  bless  him !  .  .  .  Many  reminiscences 
of  the  past  rush  through  my  mind.  When  I  took 
the  hand  of  one  dear  brother,  I  remembered 
that  thirty-seven  years  ago  we  joined  the  old  Mus- 
kingum Conference  together.  Almost  all  have  gone, 
some  to  one  place,  some  to  another,  but  most  to  eter- 
nity. Thirty-seven  years  more,  and  my  name  will 
be  on  some  old  conference  journal ;  that 's  all — no,  not 
all;  there  is  a  heaven  beyond,  where  the  good  will 
be  forever.  Lord,  make  us  good,  and  keep  us  good 
evermore." 

He  reached  his  sixtieth  birthday  while  aiding 
a  minister  of  Monticello,  Iowa,  in  holding  a 
series  of  meetings.  As  he  was  about  to  close  the 
services,  one  evening,  the  Methodist  pastor  spoke  to 
him  and  said,  "A  little  girl  has  something  to  say." 
He  paused,  and  the  little  girl,  stepping  in  front  of 
the  altar,  made  a  neat  little  speech,  and  presented 


The  Gathering  Storm  273 

tim  with  a  pair  of  slippers.  He  responded  as  best 
he  could,  and  was  about  to  dismiss,  when  the  pastor, 
stepping  up,  presented  him  with  fifty  dollars,  as  a 
birthday  present.  This  was  a  complete  surprise  to 
him. 

In  speaking  of  the  event,  he  writes  to  the  Tele- 
scope: "I  have  never  been  sixty  years  old  before,  and 
I  just  wonder  if  this  is  the  rule  to  so  treat  every  one 
when  he  reaches  sixty.  Will  this  continue  every  year 
after  he  is  sixty?  Things  are  so  uncertain  in  this 
world,  you  do  not  always  know  what  to  do,  and  so  I 
should  like  to  know.  Now,  I  might  go  to  work  and 
prepare  an  excellent  speech  for  my  next  birthday,  and 
there  might  not  be  fifty  dollars  around  to  call  it  out. 
In  spite  of  everything,  a  man  past  sixty  must  feel 
that  he  is  getting  old  in  body ;  but  no  matter  for  that 
if  all  is  well  beyond.  Such  exhibitions  of  kindness 
make  an  oasis  in  the  down-hill  journey  of  an  old 
man.  Thanks  to  all,  with  an  earnest  wish  that  we 
may  all  meet  at  home  in  the  morning." 

Speaking  further  of  his  field  of  work,  he  says: 
^'Rewards  here  and  there  still  continue.  Letters  not 
a  few  come  to  me  full  of  cheer.  Souls  by  scores  and 
hundreds  are  coming  home  to  Jesus.  Let  the  blessed 
work  go  on.  Why  not  ?  In  the  winter  and  summer 
shall  it  be.  Why  not  have  revivals  all  summer  ?  It 
used  to  be  so ;  why  not  now  ?  A  consecrated  ministry, 
with  a  consecrated  church,  may  keep  the  revival  spirit 
all  the  time." 

In  his  address  to  the  students  of  Union  Biblical 
Seminary,  he  urged  the  importance  of  sending  hale, 


274  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

healthy,  educated  young  men  to  the  frontier.  He 
said  that  if  it  were  in  his  power,  he  would  send  them 
for  five  years.  Dr.  McKee  took  him  to  task  for  this, 
and  urged  it  would  be  better  to  send  young  men  of 
families,  who  could  divide  their  time  between  preach- 
ing and  farming.  The  inference  was,  that  the  fron- 
tier did  not  need  as  well-informed  men  as  did  the 
fields  at  home.  The  bishop  replies  to  this:  ''When 
I  speak  of  frontier,  I  do  not  mean  simply  rural  dis- 
tricts, or  circuits  taking  in  whole  counties.  I  mean, 
also,  the  growing  towns  and  cities,  where  education 
and  educated  citizens  take  the  lead.  While  in  Da- 
kota, last  fall  (1883),  I  met  a  young  Methodist  min- 
ister who  was  in  search  of  some  of  his  appointments. 
He  was  from  Boston,  and  informed  me  that  a  number 
of  other  young  men  from  the  New  England  States 
had  just  landed  in  Dakota.  They  were  hale,  hearty, 
educated  young  men.  This  is  the  way  other  churches 
are  building  up  on  the  frontier,  and  they  hold  the 
towns  and  country  as  well.  Brother  McKee  would 
have  us  neglect  the  growing  towns  just  as  they  did 
in  Ohio  when  he  and  I  were  boys;  repeat  the  same 
thing  over  and  over. 

"If  we  had  had  the  men  fifty  years  ago,  and  our 
fathers  had  thought  it  wise  to  put  educated  young 
men  into  some  of  the  then  growing  towns  of  Ohio  and 
other  States  East,  we  should  most  likely  be  better 
off  to-day.  This  is  precisely  what  I  want  to  do  on 
the  frontier  now.  In  our  growing  towns  and  cities, 
a  young  minister  will  come  in  contact  with  represent- 
atives from  nearly  every  Stat©  in  the  Union ;  and  if 


The  Gathering  Storm  275 

he  is  not  wide  awake  he  will  be  left  standing  in  some 
corner  feeling  for  a  nickel  to  pay  street-car  fare  to 
go  somewhere.  While  five  years  in  the  West  might 
help  to  develop  the  bones  and  muscles  in  the  body  of 
an  educated  man,  it  will  also  tend  to  broaden  his 
views  and  sharpen  him  up.  In  my  sermon,  I  said 
it  will  take  grit,  grace,  and  common  sense  to  succeed 
anywhere,  but  I  thought  a  young  man  would  acquire 
these  in  the  West  a  little  sooner  than  anywhere  else. 
It  were  wiser  for  us  to  pitch  our  tent  in  some  of  the 
younger  towns  that  will,  by  and  by,  become  cities 
and  centers  of  influence"  (Telescope j  June  18,  1884). 
Dr.  McKee  having  called  in  question  some  of 
Bishop  Weaver's  theories,  he  takes  occasion  to  explain 
more  fully  his  sermon  before  the  students  of  the  Semi- 
nary, and  also  his  interest  in  young  men.  His  posi- 
tion on  the  educational  question  is  well  known.  He 
has  always  favored  young  men  who  were  in  earnest 
in  acquiring  an  education:  "But  education  alone 
will  not  fit  a  man  for  the  pulpit.  There  are  to-day 
thousands  of  educated  men  occupying  pulpits  who  are 
the  veriest  drones.  Education  joined  with  a  holy  zeal 
and  the  spirit  of  self-sacrifice  will  succeed.  There  are 
educated  and  uneducated  men  in  the  ministry  to-day 
who  have  not  energy  enough  to  accomplish  anything. 
When  I  said  that  young  men,  not  a  few,  were  looking 
for  feathered  nests,  I  knew  just  what  I  was  talking 
about.  There  is  a  class  of  young  men  who  are  not 
willing  to  bear  their  share  of  the  trials  and  hard- 
ships of  the  itineracy.  Give  them  a  feathered  nest, 
and  they  will  stick;  otherwise  they  will  not     I  am 


276  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

acquainted  with  certain  uneducated  young  men  who 
are  willing  to  bear  their  share  of  the  labors  and  sac- 
rifices of  an  itinerant  life.  They  are  the  men  that 
do,  and  will  succeed." 

He  reiterates  his  views  that  it  would  be  a  good 
thing  for  young  men  to  go  West.  He  thinks  five  years' 
experience  on  the  frontier  would  do  them  more  good 
than  the  same  number  of  years  in  an  old,  staid  town 
or  city  in  the  East:  "Why,  there  is  not  only  a  rush 
on  the  frontier  to  get  rich,  but  there  is  a  rush  of 
thought  that  is  surprising.  Almost  every  nation  is 
represented  here.  An  educated  young  man  in  the 
city  of  Denver  told  me,  only  a  few  days  since,  that 
he  w^as  surprised  to  find  so  many  men  in  the  com- 
mon walks  of  life  so  well  educated.  Said  he,  'We 
have  from  England,  Wales,  Scotland,  and  other  for- 
eign countries,  scores  and  hundreds  of  educated  men ; 
so  from  every  State  in  the  Union  we  have  a  vast 
number  of  educated  young  people.'  An  educated 
young  man,  if  he  has  the  grace  and  grit  to  push  out 
into  such  a  rushing  current  of  thought  as  he  may 
find  on  the  frontier,  w^ll  grow  faster  and  better  than 
anywhere  I  know  of." 

Bishop  Weaver  makes  another  reference  to  those 
who  have  left  us :  "Young  men,  not  a  few,  in  search 
of  feathered  nests,  have  gone  out  of  the  Church,  and 
are  now  hidden  in  other  churches,  and  will  not  likely 
succeed  in  making  a  mark  anywhere.  I  have  no  un- 
kind word  to  say  of  other  churches,  nor  of  those  who 
have  joined  them ;  but  if  some  of  those  young  men, 
instead  of  going  out  of  the  Church  to  find  an  easy 


The  Gathering  Storm  211 

place,  would  have  gone  to  the  frontier  in  the  name 
and  spirit  of  the  Master,  they  would  have  gained  an 
influence  and  reputation  for  good  they  never  will 
gain  where  they  now  are.  Such  like  facts  coming 
to  me  during  the  past  twenty  years  induced  me  to 
say  what  I  did  in  that  sermon,  and  I  have  nothing  to 
recaU." 

His  conferences  for  the  year  were  held  as  follows : 
St.  Joseph,  near  South  Whitly,  Indiana,  August  20 ; 
Michigan,  Bengal  Church,  St.  John's,  Michigan,  Au- 
gust 27 ;  North  Michigan,  Sparta,  Michigan,  Sep- 
tember 3  ;  Upper  Wabash,  Chase,  Indiana,  September 
10 ;  Rock  River,  Lovell  Chapel,  Sycamore,  Illinois ; 
Fox  River,  Strongs  Prairie,  Wisconsin,  September 
26 ;  Wisconsin,  Bethel  Chapel,  Monroe,  Wisconsin, 
October  2 ;  Minnesota,  Edgewood,  Minnesota,  Oc- 
tober 9 ;  Dakota,  Canton,  Dakota,  October  16 ;  West 
Des  Moines,  Des  Moines,  Iowa,  October  22 ;  West 
N'ebraska,  Gibbon,  Nebraska,  October  30;  Iowa, 
Toledo,  Iowa,  April  1,  1885.  Elkhorn  met  at 
Schuyler,  Missouri,  June  26.  The  Colorado  Mis- 
sion Conference  met  near  Longmont,  Colorado,  June 
19. 

At  the  close  of  the  Colorado  Mission  Conference, 
he  makes  an  appeal  through  the  paper  for  one  or 
more  men.  The  prospects  are  encouraging.  There 
are  three  appointments  lying  near  each  other  for 
which  a  man  is  wanted.  They  are  in  full  view  of  the 
mountains  of  the  snowy  peaks,  the  tops  of  which  toy 
with  the  clouds.  So  far  as  the  people  know,  there  is 
snow  there  that  fell  when  the  first  Pharaoh  was  ruler 


278  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

in  Egypt.  He  wishes  he  were  a  poet  for  a  short  time, 
that  he  might  picture  these  mountains. 

A  lady  asked  an  anxious  mother  whether  her  son 
was  fond  of  poetry.  The  lady  mistook  the  word 
"poetry"  for  "poultry,"  and  answered  that  her  son 
was  exceedingly  fond  of  poultry.  "Indeed,"  she  said, 
"it  seemed  as  if  he  could  never  get  enough  of 
chicken."  The  first  lady  said,  "I  did  not  mean  that; 
I  said  poetry;  that  is,  does  your  son  manifest  any- 
thing of  that  divine  afflatus  ?"  "Well,"  said  the 
anxious  mother,  "my  son  has  had  nearly  all  the 
diseases  common  to  children,  but  I  don't  think  he  ever 
had  anything  like  the  divine  flatness."  Said  the 
bishop,  in  his  article,  "I  am  conscious  of  having  a 
good  degree  of  flatness  when  it  comes  to  writing 
poetry,  so  I  never  try." 

At  the  Des  Moines  Conference,  a  fraternal  dele- 
gation from  a  Baptist  association  was  introduced  to 
the  conference,  and  the  chairman  delivered  an  ad- 
dress, to  which  Bishop  Weaver  replied.  When  they 
were  leaving  the  conference  room,  the  delegates  shook 
hands  with  the  bishop,  and,  in  bidding  him  good-by, 
one  of  them  said,  "When  we  get  to  heaven,  we  shall 
all  be  United  Brethren."  Bishop  Weaver,  in  his 
peculiar  manner,  replied,  "We  are  ahead  of  you ;  we 
are  United  Brethren  now." 

His  conferences  taxed  him  not  a  little.  He  was 
taken  down,  soon  after  reaching  home,  with  neuralgia, 
mainly  located  in  the  base  of  the  brain,  and  which, 
for  a  time,  seriously  threatened  to  result  in  brain 
fever,  but  it  yielded  to  treatment,  and,  in  due  time, 
he  recovered. 


^^■1^      ]^^^ 


Bishop  Jonathan  Weaver.— About  \HS'> 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

The  Battle  of  the  Giants. — 1885. 

The  year  1885  opened  with  no  little  foreboding 
on  the  part  of  many  warm  friends  of  the  Church. 
The  General  Conference  was  to  meet  in  May.  Ail 
felt  that  something  should  be  done  to  relieve  the 
troubled  conditions,  but  what  it  would  be,  or  should 
be,  not  many  could  tell.  Dr.  Warner,  of  the  aggress- 
ive, liberal  class,  wrote,  January  28 :  "Down  under 
the  surface  of  our  Church  life  is  a  substratum  of  dis- 
couragement, if  not  of  discontent,  that  needs  to  be 
greatly  diminished,  if  not  entirely  removed.  It  will 
be  very  unfortunate  if  it  is  increased  or  aggravated. 
In  the  last  four  years,  the  growth  of  the  Church  has 
been  comparatively  small.  The  General  Conference 
should  not  adjourn  until  it  has  done  that  which  shall 
give  peace  to  the  Church,  and  insure  united  effort 
in  the  future.,  if  it  be  possible  to  do  it.  A  general 
peace  will  bring  local  peace,  and  throw  the  Church 
into  compact  columns,  against  which  no  power  it 
should  conquer  can  stand." 

For  some  time  Bishop  Weaver  had  been  kept  at 
home  by  the  severe  sickness  of  a  daughter.  The  con- 
dition of  the  Church  gave  him  no  little  anxiety.  It 
was  the  business  of  those  who  have  the  supervision 
of  the  Church  to  find  a  way  out,  if  possible.    For  some 


2b0  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

time,  and  in  various  ways,  he  had  been  taking  the 
temperature  of  the  Church.  It  was  not  his  way  to 
shirk  duty  when  the  path  seemed  clear  and  plain, 
so,  in  the  quiet  of  his  own  chamber,  away  from  the 
excitement  of  the  crowded  assembly,  he  gave  his  best 
judgment  to  the  situation,  without  fear  or  favor,  as 
he  should  answer  to  God  in  the  great  day.  It  was 
embodied  in  a  three-column  communication  to  the 
Telescope,  entitled  "The  Outlook,"  and  printed  in. 
the  issue  for  February  25.  As  it  was  a  paper  of  in- 
tense interest,  and  will  be  historic  for  all  time,  we 
give  it  in  full : 

"There  are  times  when  men  ought  to  express  their 
honest  convictions  on  matters  of  church  polity  with- 
out being  charged  with  disloyalty  or  fanaticism.  It 
seems  to  me  that  time  has  come  in  the  history  of  the 
United  Brethren  Church.  It  is  not  the  time  for 
harsh  words  and  hot  controversy,  but  for  calm,  delib- 
erate Christian  thought.  Because  men  differ  in  their 
opinions  is  no  reason  why  they  should  denounce  each 
other  as  insincere.  Men  who  are  laboring  to  build 
up  the  Church  ought  to  be  permitted  to  express  their 
views  without  being  denounced.  I  refer  particu- 
larly to  the  difference  of  opinion  on  the  secrecy  ques- 
tion. 

"In  one  way  and  another,  I  have  canvassed  the 
views  of  our  people  East  and  West,  and  I  give  it 
as  my  deliberate  opinion  that  nine^tenths  of  the  mem- 
bers, ministers  and  all,  are  opposed  to  secret  organi- 
zations. I  have  not  found  ten  persons  in  the  Church 
in  ten  years  to  advocate  the  claims  of  secret  societies. 


ITie  Battle  of  the  Giants  281 

What  others  have  found,  I  do  not  know.  I  simply 
give  what  I  know. 

"What  I  have  found  is  a  difference  of  opinion  con- 
cerning the  best  manner  of  dealing  with  them.  'With 
malice  toward  none,  and  charity  for  all,'  I  shall  write 
my  sentiments  freely.  Our  present  law,  by  a  good 
many  of  our  ministers,  is  not,  and,  in  my  opinion,  will 
not  be  enforced.  Men  who  have  always  been  true  to 
the  principles  of  the  Church  have  said  to  me  that  they 
could  not  conscientiously  enforce  the  law ;  otJiers  that 
they  would  not  do  it.  I  asked  them  to  give  their 
reasons  for  not  doing  it.  The  following,  in  substance, 
was  their  answer :  'A  brother,  a  prominent  member, 
joined  a  major  order  (Odd  Fellows).  I  visited  him. 
He  confessed  his  error,  asked  to  be  forgiven,  and 
promised  never  to  visit  the  lodge  again.  The  law  de- 
clares him  out  of  the  Church,  and  all  I  had  to  do 
was  to  erase  his  name  and  announce  the  fact  to  the 
class.  Neither  the  pastor  nor  the  class  had  any  dis- 
cretion in  the  case.  The  law  makes  no  provisions  for 
his  restoration,  no  matter  what  his  confessions  and 
promises  may  be.  In  such  case,  I  could  not  an- 
nounce to  the  class  that  he  was  out  of  the  Church. 
When  he  asked  pardon,  I  had  to  forgive  him  as  I 
hope  to  be  forgiven.'  !N'ow,  this  is  no  exaggeration ; 
it  is  a  simple  statement  of  fact  as  I  have  heard  it 
again  and  again. 

"Some  men  have  said  they  would  enforce  the  law, 
but  they  would  do  it  in  a  mild  way.  But  the  law 
makes  no  such  provisions.  Right  at  this  point  is 
where  thousands  of  our  people  this  day  are  halting, 


282  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

and  will  halt.  Any  and  every  law  that  does  not  rest 
upon  the  principles  and  spirit  of  the  gospel  of  Jesus 
Christ  will  produce  restlessness  among  evangelical 
Christians.  The  laws  provided  in  our  book  of  Dis- 
cipline against  offenses,  except  this  one,  seem  to  be  in 
the  most  perfect  harmony  with  the  teachings  of  Christ 
and  the  apostles.  Touching  any  offense  named  by 
Christ  and  his  apostles,  of  which  any  disciple  might 
be  guilty,  provisions  are  made  for  his  restoration; 
so,  according  to  our  Discipline,  if  a  man  is  guilty  of 
an  immorality  or  of  willful  neglect,  he  is  to  be  labored 
with  and  restored,  if  possible;  but  if  he  joins  a  secret 
order,  he  is  out,  and  no  provisions  are  made  to  restore 
him,  except  in  the  minor  orders,  and  that  is  not  well 
understood  by  many  of  our  people.  Along  these  lines 
our  people  are  confused  and  divided.  I  have  faith 
in  our  ministers  and  members.  They  are  intelligent, 
devout,  and  sincere. 

"I  have,  in  forty-five  years,  lived  under  five  dif- 
ferent rules  on  the  secrecy  question,  and,  without 
egotism,  I  can  say  that  I  have  been  true  to  every  one 
of  them.  In  my  principle,  I  am  to-day  where  I  was 
forty  years  ago.  I  want  a  rule  bearing  against  these 
orders  that  shall  be  in  perfect  harmony  with  the  spirit 
and  principles  of  the  gospel  of  Christ.  I  shall  lay  it 
down  as  a  principle  that  every  law  of  the  Church  that 
does  not  make  provision  for  the  restoration  of  offend- 
ers is  not  in  harmony  with  the  principles  of  the  gospel 
of  Christ. 

"It  is  time  this  question  was  settled.  Our  people 
are  becoming  more  and  more  restless — ^not  alone  our 


ThQ  Battle  of  the  Giants  283 

ministers,  but  members  as  well.  Our  people  are  feel- 
ing the  burden  of  earr;)dng  our  various  interests  for- 
ward ;  and  bj  the  severity  of  our  present  law  we  are 
virtually  shut  out  of  the  large  towns  and  cities,  those 
centers  of  influence  and  power  from  which  other 
churches  draw  so  largely  to  support  their  institutions. 
But  one  says,  "Give  us  a  pure  church."  Very  well ; 
but  who  of  us  would  be  members  to-day  if  that  had 
been  enforced  all  the  time  ?  We  should  aim  to  keep 
the  Church  as  pure  as  we  can ;  but  it  is  certainly  not 
wise  to  put  all  our  force  to  bar  the  door  against  one 
evil,  while  a  thousand  others  may  be  coming  in  from 
some  other  quarter.  We  should  always  be  careful  lest 
while  we  seek  to  pull  the  tares  we  do  not  destroy  the 
wheat.  Our  Lord's  lesson  in  Matt.  13  is  very  in- 
structive. But  some  are  very  zealous  to  keep  the 
Church  pure  along  certain  lines.  They  would  pull 
up  the  tares,  no  matter  how  much  wheat  would  be 
destroyed.    Our  Lord  said  not  so. 

"The  mission  of  the  Church  is  to  save  souls. 
Hence,  every  part  and  particle  of  church  machinery 
should  be  adjusted  so  as  to  accomplish  this  end.  And 
here,  it  seems  to  me,  there  comes  to  us  a  very  serious 
question,  Are  we  saving  men  from  the  lodge?  We 
ought  to  be  able  to  save  men  from  the  lodge  as  well 
as  from  other  evils.  If  God  has  called  us  to  oppose 
this  evil,  and  I  believe  he  has,  then  it  seems  to  me 
that  our  church  machinery  should  be  so  adjusted 
that  we  would  save  men  from  it.  What  good  will 
come  of  it  in  the  end  if  we  oppose  an  evil,  and  yet 
leave  nine-tenths  to  die  in  it?     We  oppose  other 


284  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

evils,  and,  by  the  grace  of  God,  are  saving  men  from 
them. 

"I  conceive  that  it  may  be  possible  to  assume  such 
an  attitude  against  an  evil  as  to  completely  antagonize 
all  who  are  in  any  sense  in  sympathy  with  it.  Min- 
isters sometimes  oppose  evil  in  such  a  manner  that 
they  thrust  the  people  away  from  them.  So  by  the 
terms  of  a  law,  however  just  in  itself,  men  may  be  so 
antagonized  that  they  cannot  be  reached  by  the 
friends  of  that  law.  I  suggest  the  above  as  a  propo- 
sition we  will  do  well  to  consider.  If  we  are  right  in 
our  present  method  of  opposing  secret  organizations, 
then  it  must  be  that  God  does  not  require  us  to  win 
men  from  it,  but  only  to  oppose  it  and  keep  it  out  of 
our  Church.  The  advocacy  and  strict  enforcement 
of  our  law  will  have  precisely  this  effect. 

"Another  matter  should  be  well  considered,  which 
is  this:  making  every  secret  society  a  test  of  mem- 
bership. It  is  not  difficult  to  convince  intelligent 
men  and  women  that  Christians  should  not  be  mem- 
bers of  certain  oath-bound  secret  organizations;  but 
to  show,  from  a  Bible  standpoint,  that  it  is  a  sin  of 
sufficient  magnitude  to  exclude  from  church  fellow- 
ship all  persons  who  belong  to  what  are  called  minor 
orders  is  more  than  can  satisfactorily  be  done.  The' 
Quakers,  who,  for  a  long  time,  did  about  as  we  are 
doing  now,  have  quietly  changed,  not  their  opposition 
to  secrecy,  but  their  method  of  opposing  these  orders. 
Excluding  every  little  beneficiary  order  simply  be- 
cause there  is  some  little  secret  about  it  cannot  be 
well  sustained.  I  lay  it  down  as  a  principle  that  every 


The  Battle  of  the  Giants  285 

organization  should  he  made  to  stand  or  fall  upon  its 
own  merits  or  demerits.  Because  it  may  be  right  to 
exclude  from  church  fellowship  members  of  certain 
oath-bound  secret  orders,  that  does  not  prove  that  it 
is  right  to  exclude  all  members  of  secret  societies,  un- 
less it  can  be  established  that  secrecy  is  a  sin  per  se. 
Our  law  indiscriminately  shuts  the  door  against  all. 

"In  some  of  our  large  towns  and  cities  we  are  tug- 
ging along  with  little  mission  churches  until  our  peo- 
ple in  the  rural  districts  are  getting  tired  of  paying 
money  to  support  them.  If  it  were  not  for  our  sweep- 
ing law  against  all  secret  orders,  we  could  to-day  have 
large,  self-sustaining  congregations  in  towns  and  cities 
where  now  we  have  nothing  at  all,  or  at  least  only 
little  mission  congTCgations. 

"Many  of  our  ministers  are  becoming  disheartened, 
living,  as  they  do,  on  less  than  half  salary.  They 
work  hard,  and  often  in  small  towns  and  villages 
have  excellent  revivals,  while  other  churches  reap 
most  of  the  fruits  of  such  revivals,  because  many  of 
the  converts  belong  to  some  minor  secret  order,  such 
as  the  Grand  Army  or  some  temperance  organiza- 
tion. I  have  received  many  letters  from  good  and 
true  men,  who  say  they  are  utterly  discouraged,  and 
will  be  compelled  either  to  stop  preaching  or  go  else- 
where. Many  of  these  converts  could  be  won  from 
these  minor  orders  if  they  could  be  cared  for  and  in- 
structed ;  but  our  law  meets  them  at  the  door  and  for- 
bids them  entrance.  I  am  stating  facts  just  as  I  know 
them  to  exist ;  and,  unless  some  relief  can  be  offered, 
I  fear  that  we  shall  suffer  very  considerable  loss. 


286  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

Fine  theories,  spun  out  bj  men  in  good  circumstances 
financially,  are  all  well  enough ;  but  living  on  a  salary 
of  two  or  three  hundred  dollars,  with  a  family  of  five 
or  six  children,  is  quite  another  thing. 

"With  all  due  reverence  to  our  fathers,  I  will  say 
that  it  matters  little  to  me  what  they  said  or  did. 
In  some  things  they  were  right,  and  in  some  things 
they  were  wrong.  For  the  right  they  should  be  hon- 
ored, and  for  the  wrong  they  should  be  set  aside.  We 
have  a  more  sure  word  of  prophecy.  It  would  hardly 
do  for  ministers  and  members  of  the  Church  to-day 
to  use  the  decanter  as  some  of  the  fathers  did.  We 
are  living  in  another  age,  with  vastly  different  sur- 
roundings, and  our  ecclesiastical  machinery  must  be 
adjusted  to  meet  these  days,  and  not  the  days  of  our 
fathers.  Only  so  far  as  we  have  positive  divine  au- 
thority are  we  required  to  maintain  the  same  form 
of  church  law.  The  details  of  church  law,  for  the 
most  part,  are  human.  Hence  it  is  that  we  change 
so  often.  Compare  our  Discipline  with  what  it  was 
forty,  thirty,  or  even  twenty  years  ago,  and  the  dif- 
ference is  very  considerable. 

"It  is  the  solemn  duty  of  those  who  are  called 
upon  to  legislate  for  a  Christian  church  to  adopt  laws 
that  can,  and  will  be  executed,  so  as  to  maintain  the 
dignity  and  purity  of  the  Church,  and  yet  be  a  means 
of  correcting  and  saving  souls.  Every  church  law 
that  is  in  harmony  with  the  spirit  of  the  gospel  of 
Christ  can  be  defended.  Take  our  law  relating  to 
the  'trial  of  members'  (Discipline,  pages  22-25),  or 
that  relating  to  the  'duties  of  members'  (pages  18- 


The  Battle  of  the  Giants  287 

22).  It  would  not  be  difficult  to  show  that  these 
rules  are  compatible  with  the  gospel  of  Christ. 
So  it  should  be  with  every  rule  and  law  of  the 
Church. 

''Turthermore,  I  believe  that  a  reasonable  construc- 
tion should  be  put  upon  the  fourth  article  of  our  con- 
stitution, and  then,  with  some  changes,  submitted  to 
the  members  for  their  adoption  or  rejection.  It  seems 
to  me  that  two-thirds  of  those  that  will  vote  ought  to 
settle  all  questions  in  the  Church.  If  the  time  ever 
comes  when  two-thirds  of  the  active,  working  mem- 
bers of  the  Church  desire  a  change,  it  should  be 
granted.  If  two-thirds  of  those  who  have  interest 
enough  to  vote  say  the  constitution  is  right  as  it  is, 
then  let  it  remain.  If  two-thirds  say  it  ought  to  be 
changed,  then  let  it  be  changed.  But  if  we  are 
to  wait  until  two-thirds  of  the  'whole  society'  request 
a  change,  then  it  will  never  come.  As  a  denomina- 
tion, I  suppose  we  are  about  as  good  as  those  around 
us ;  but  there  is  no  sect  whose  members  are  all  active. 
At  least  one-third  of  the  members  of  the  very  best 
denominations  are  but  nominal  Christians.  One- 
third  of  our  members  have  but. little  interest  in  the 
general  work  of  the  Church.  I  doubt  if,  on  any  ques- 
tion submitted  to  our  people,  two-thirds  of  the  whole 
society  would  vote.  It  is  hardly  probable  that  there 
will  be  five  delegates  at  our  next  General  Conference 
who  were  elected  by  two-thirds  of  the  members  of 
their  conference.  The  chances  are  that  the  majority 
will  have  been  elected  by  not  more  than  one-third  of 
the  members  of  their  respective  conferences.     They 


288  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

will  have  received  a  majority  of  the  votes  of  those  that 
voted,  no  more. 

"Now,  it  seems  to  me  to  be  most  unreasonable  that 
one-third  of  inactive  members,  who  have  not  inter- 
est enough  in  the  welfare  of  the  Church  to  vote  on 
any  question,  should  be  allowed  to  control  the  two- 
thirds  of  active,  working  members.  A  literal  inter- 
pretation of  the  fourth  article  of  our  constitution,  for 
which  some  contend,  puts  the  future  destiny  of  our 
Church,  so  far  as  any  change  in  the  constitution  is 
concerned,  into  the  hands  of  this  one-third  of  in- 
active and  indifferent  members.  Is  it  just,  is  it  rea- 
sonable that  it  should  be  so  ? 

"I  have  written  this  article,  not  for  controversy, 
but  because  I  feel  that  we  have  reached  a  period  in 
our  history  when  certain  questions  must  be  settled,  or 
we  shall  suffer  great  loss.  Any  one  who  may  see  dif- 
ferently from  myself  ought  to  speak  or  write  out  his 
views,  not  in  the  spirit  of  controversy,  but  independ- 
ently, as  if  nothing  had  been  written.  Write  in  the 
fear  of  God.  If  I  were  seeking  for  favors,  I  would 
keep  still,  but  I  love  the  United  Brethren  Church.  It 
has  had  my  feeble  labors  for  more  than  forty  years ; 
for  the  time  to  come  it  shall  have  my  prayers  and 
sympathies.  Oh,  that  I  had  done  more  and  better 
work  for  the  Church !  Within  her  pale  I  expect  to 
die.  As  Dr.  Davis  said  to  me  a  short  time  since,  so 
say  I  now,  'I  cannot  afford  to  die  with  the  least  bitter 
feeling  in  my  heart  toward  any  living  being  on  earth.* 
May  the  dear  Master  still  lead  us." 

This  paper  aroused  the  forces  on  both  sides  to  a 


The  Battle  of  the  Giants  289 

more  intense  activity.  It  proposed  to  submit  the 
constitution  to  a  vote  of  the  membership,  and,  to  the 
radical  wing  of  the  Church,  that  looked  like  tamper- 
ing with  the  ark  of  God.  If  the  controversy  once 
began,  no  one  could  tell  where  the  end  would  be. 
Within  a  few  days  (March  11),  Dr.  Davis  replied 
to  it  through  the  columns  of  the  Church  paper :  "It 
is  certainly  true  that  the  change  proposed  is  revolu- 
tion, although  it  may  not  be  sought  by  unconstitu- 
tional methods.  The  constitution  may  be  changed 
peacefully  or  violently,  but  in  either  case  the  change 
proposed  is  radical  and  dangerous.  My  heart  is  made 
sad  when  I  look  over  some  of  the  remarks  and  recom- 
mendations found  in  'The  Outlook.'  My  hope  and 
prayer  is,  that  these  influences  may  be  counteracted 
in  some  way."  He  writes  again  (March  25),  when 
he  aims  to  give  the  personal  opinions  of  Bishop 
Weaver,  as  he  interprets  them,  and  then  says,  "If  I 
<io  not  misjudge,  hundreds  and  thousands  of  our  peo- 
ple have  already  said,  'We  do  not  want  the  change 
proposed  in  'The  Outlook,'  nor  do  we  intend  to  have 
it." 

In  the  Telescope  for  April  8,  Bishop  Weaver  re- 
plies to  a  previous  article  by  Dr.  Davis.  He  thinks 
it  no  sin  to  be  a  reformer.  The  fathers  were  not 
inspired  when  they  made  our  present  constitution. 
They  did  nothing  that  was  too  sacred  to  be  touched. 
"If  I  were  ever  honest  in  a  declaration,  I  am  honest 
in  this;  namely,  that  we  are  not  winning  as  many 
souls  for  Jesus  with  our  present  sweeping  law  against 
secrecy  as  we  should  if  it  were  less  rigid."    Bishop 


290  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

Weaver  favored  submitting  the  constitution  to  th& 
people,  because  he  thought  that  would  be  the  most 
satisfactory  way  of  settling  the  difficulty.  Then,, 
again,  it  had  never  been  before  them  for  rejection  or 
adoption  in  its  present  form.  ''I  hold  it  is  the  pre- 
rogative of  any  General  Conference  subsequent  to 
1841  to  change,  modify,  or  rescind  any  part  of  the 
constitution  that  was  put  there  by  the  General  Con- 
ference of  1841.  I  ask  Dr.  Davis  and  Brother  Floyd 
to  look  this  squarely  in  the  face."  Concerning  the 
minor  orders,  "I  further  say  that,  unless  it  can  be 
proved  that  secrecy  is  a  sin  per  se,  it  is  difficult  to 
prove  that  every  little  temporary  order  should  be  ex- 
cluded from  Church  fellowship.  Why  did  the  doctor 
not  prove  that  secrecy  is  a  sin  per  se?  He  would 
have  been  confronted  by  himself.  Sixteen  years  ago, 
at  Lebanon,  he  was  chairman  of  the  committee  that 
reported  a  rule  on  secrecy  which  he  advocated  as  the 
very  thing  needed,  and  which,  of  course,  was  in  per- 
fect harmony  with  the  views  of  the  fathers.  That  was 
very  diiferent  from  the  present  case.  Then,  again, 
eight  years  ago,  the  doctor  voted  squarely  against  his 
own  will  by  voting  for  our  present  rule.  IN'ow,  after 
all  these  changes  that  the  doctor  has  helped  to  make, 
he  finds  very  grave  fault  with  me  because  I  venture  to 
suggest  that  some  changes  might  be  of  advantage  to 
our  Church  growth.  If,  after  careful  and  prayerful 
consideration,  a  majority  should  conclude  that  the 
constitution  and  our  rule  on  secrecy  should  remain  as 
they  are,  I  will  most  cheerfully  submit,  and  continue 
to  work  as  hard  as  I  can  to  advance  the  interests  of 


The  Battle  of  the  Giants  291 

the  Church.  What  cannot  be  done  legally  and  by 
the  voice  of  the  majority  should  not  be  done  at  all." 

In  the  Telescope  for  April  15,  Dr.  Davis  returned 
to  the  attack.  Bishop  Weaver  had  said,  "In  my  prin- 
ciple I  am  to-day  where  I  was  forty  years  ago."  To 
this  Dr.  Davis  took  exception,  and  quoted  at  length 
from  a  lecture  delivered  by  Bishop  Weaver  in  1862, 
aiming  to  show  that  his  teachings  then  and  now  are 
not  the  same :  "If  the  bishop  (Weaver)  will  still  say 
that  his  views  have  not  been  changed,  I  will  admit 
it  for  the  honor  of  his  good  name,  but  must  insist 
upon  it  that  his  words  and  record  have  deceived  us." 

In  the  paper  for  April  29,  Bishop  Weaver  an- 
sv»'ered  Dr.  Davis's  charge  that  he  had  changed  since 
1862.  He  proceeds  to  show  that  the  laws  have  been 
constantly  changing:  "Twenty-four  years  ago,  it  is 
said,  offending  members  should  be  dealt  with  as  in 
case  of  other  immoralities.  Sixteen  years  ago,  our 
law  gave  them  six  months  to  sever  connection  with 
the  order.  Our  present  law  gives  no  time  at  all,  ex- 
cept in  the  minor  orders.  Is  it  a  greater  sin  for  an 
individual  to  change  his  views  as  to  method  than  it 
is  for  the  Church  to  change  ?  In  principle  I  am  the 
same  as  I  was  forty  years  ago.  I  have  changed  my 
views  as  to  method.  The  doctor  and  other  friends  of 
the  present  law  have  helped  to  change  our  method 
again  and  again.  Did  he  change  in  principle  every 
time  he  helped  to  change  our  method  ?  Which  is  the 
greater  sinner,  the  doctor  or  I  ? 

"In  this  discussion,  I  have  aimed  to  be  frank.  I 
have  no  personal  ends  to  serve.     My  time  for  active 


292  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

work  in  the  Church  will  soon  be  past.  My  one  object 
is,  and  has  been  to  find  the  true  road  to  successful 
church  work.  We  are  not  succeeding  as  we  ought. 
This  quadrennial  term  will  soon  close,  and  our  in- 
crease will  not  be  more  than  about  seven  thousand. 
Tens  of  thousands  have  been  converted  at  our  altars 
in  these  four  years,  while  other  churches  have  gath- 
ered much  of  the  fruit  of  our  labors.  One  reason  for 
this  state  of  things  is  our  present  method  of  opposing 
secret  orders.  Our  law  not  only  shuts  the  door 
against  all  members  of  every  little  beneficiary  order, 
and  sends  them  away,  but  it  turns  their  friends  away. 
In  a  word,  our  rigid  law  antagonizes  the  majority  of 
those  outside  of  our  pale,  so  that  we  cannot  win  men 
from  the  lodge  nor  gather  them  into  the  Church" 
{Telescope,  August  29,  1885). 

The  editor  of  the  Telescope,  in  a  summing  up  of 
the  situation  (April  29),  under  the  title  of  "Our 
Church  Legislation,"  after  speaking  of  the  different 
opinions  in  the  Church,  the  difficulties  that  have  been 
met,  and  have  hindered  our  progress,  thus  forecasts 
the  case :  "Our  whole  statement  of  law  is  destined  to 
be  changed.  The  generation  is  now  born  that  will 
take  our  confession  of  faith,  or  creed,  and  constitu- 
tion, and  make  a  new  statement  of  them,  embodying 
all  the  essentials  we  now  have  in  different  forms,  and 
with  fuller  amplifications.  Those  whose  hairs  are 
gray  may  oppose  it,  if  they  will,  but  it  will  be  of  no 
avail.  A  progressive  church  comes  upon  new  eras; 
we  have  already  passed  several  of  these  epochs.  Age 
after  age  will  put  its  own  interpretation  upon  the 


The  Battle  of  the  Giants  293 

application  of  great  facts  and  truths  and  principles 
to  church  activities.  The  essential  features  of  church 
polity  will  abide,  but  we  cannot  stop  the  current  of 
church  life  any  more  than  we  can  arrest  Niagara." 

Dr.  Davis  again  replied  to  Bishop  Weaver,  and, 
on  May  13,  the  latter  answered.  It  was  his  last  ar- 
ticle before  the  matter  came  to  the  General  Confer- 
ence, when  it  must  be  decided.  After  defining  his 
position  against  the  doctor's  attacks,  he  concludes: 
"One  thing  remains  as  a  fact,  thousands  of  our  peo- 
ple, among  whom  are  many  leading  ministers,  have 
changed  their  views  concerning  our  legislation  on  this 
question ;  men  who  are  out  in  the  field  and  who  have 
to  meet  this  question  in  the  face,  are  the  men  who 
know  most  about  the  practical  working  of  our  law. 
Shut  out  from  the  main  centers  of  influence,  living  on 
half  salaries,  and  seeing  much  of  the  fruit  of  their 
hard  labors  joining  some  other  denominations,  have 
caused  many  to  change  their  views.  A  brother  who 
but  a  short  time  ago  was  a  radical  wrote  to  me,  a  few 
days  since,  that  three  prominent  ministers  in  his  con- 
ference had  joined  another  church,  and  that  he  and 
another  man  were  going  soon — starved  out.  An  old 
itinerant,  who  was  a  delegate,  and  voted  for  our  pres- 
ent law,  wrote  me,  last  week,  that  he  was  forced  to 
retire  from  the  active  work.  In  eight  years  of  hard 
Itinerating,  he  had  received  less  than  two  hundred 
dollars  a  year.  Shut  out  from  the  centers  of  influ- 
ence, and  saving  nobody  from  the  lodge,  had  fully  sat- 
isfied him  that  our  legislation  was  wrong.  With  our 
earnest  prayer  that  our  dear  Father  in  heaven  may 


294  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

guide  us  all  aright,  I  now  close  this  article  and  this 
discussion,  unless  something  new  is  presented." 

For  the  first  five  months  of  the  year,  scarcely  an 
issue  of  the  Telescope  came  from  the  press  in  which 
one  or  more  communications  on  the  secrecy  question 
did  not  appear.  They  were  on  both  sides  of  the  ques- 
tion. We  have  not  space  to  quote  from  them,  but 
we  speak  of  it  here  as  one  of  the  indications  showing 
a  general  unrest 

The  General  Conference  convened,  at  the  time  ap- 
pointed, at  Fostoria,  Ohio.  The  bishops'  address, 
prepared,  in  the  main,  by  Bishop  Kephart,  made  the 
following  suggestions:  "(1)  Should  you  determine 
that  it  (the  constitution)  is  in  your  hands,  then  trans- 
fer the  whole  from  the  realm  of  constitutional  law 
to  the  field  of  legislative  enactment,  which  would  be 
to  expunge  the  whole  question  from  the  constitution, 
and  bring  it  into  the  field  of  legislative  enactment,  to 
be  handled  as  the  Church,  through  her  representa- 
tives, may  determine  from  time  to  time.  (2)  That 
you  limit  the  prohibitory  feature  of  your  enactment 
to  combinations,  secret  and  open,  to  which  the  Church 
believes  a  Christian  cannot  belong.  (3)  Should  you 
decide  that  this  constitutional  question  is  beyond  your 
control  and  in  the  hands  of  the  whole  society,  then 
submit  the  above  proposition,  properly  formulated, 
to  a  vote  of  the  whole  Church,  and  let  a  two-thirds 
vote  of  those  voting  be  the  authoritative  voice  of  the 
Church  on  the  subject." 

The  whole  matter  was  referred  to  a  committee, 
■wkich,  after  due  deliberation,  reported,  recommend- 


The  Battle  of  the  Giants  295 

ing  the  appointment  of  a  commission  of  twentj-seven 
persons,  consisting  of  the  bishops  and  an  equal  num- 
ber of  ministers  and  lajmen,  who  should  revise  the 
confession  of  faith  under  certain  limitations.  When 
that  work  was  done,  it  should  be  submitted  to  a  vote 
of  the  whole  membership  of  the  Church  for  approval 
or  disapproval,  and  if  two-thirds  of  those  voting 
should  affirm,  it  should  thenceforward  be  the  consti- 
tution and  confession  of  faith  of  the  Church.  Eleven 
of  the  members  of  the  committee  signed  the  report. 

Upon  a  motion  to  adopt,  the  majority  then  began 
one  of  the  most  interesting  and  able  discussions  that 
have  probably  ever  occurred  in  connection  with  any  of 
our  conferences.  It  was  really  a  battle  of  the  giants. 
In  the  main,  the  proprieties  becoming  such  an  occa- 
sion were  well  maintained.  The  discussions  continued 
for  the  larger  part  of  two  days.  Men  had  come  there 
expecting  it,  prepared  for  it  in  a  sense,  and,  in  the 
judgment  of  all,  it  was  a  crisis  time  for  the  Church. 
The  radical  wing,  so-called,  felt  as  though  the  passage 
of  that  report  would  almost  unsettle  the  very  foun- 
dations of  the  Church.  The  liberals,  on  the  other 
hand,  saw  in  the  adoption  of  this  report,  a  relief  from 
the  intense  radicalism  which,  in  their  judgment,  had 
greatly  hindered  the  growth  of  the  Church,  and  the 
prospect  of  a  richer,  fuller  life.  It  is  not  strange  that 
the  result  was  watched  with  intense  interest.  On  its 
settlement,  whichever  way  it  went,  hung  everlasting 
results.  The  writer  was  present,  and  listened  to  these 
delegates  making  brief  explanations  as  they  recorded 
their  votes  and  helped  determine  their  own  destiny, 


296  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

as  well  as  that  of  the  Church.  When  the  call  was 
finished,  the  bishops  announced  that  seventy-eight  had 
voted  in  favor,  and  fortj-two  against.  Bishop  Weaver 
voted  in  the  affirmative. 

After  the  vote  was  taken.  Bishop  Weaver  offered  a 
very  tender  prayer,  asking  forgiveness  if  they  had. 
gone  astray,  asking  divine  guidance  and  direction  in, 
all  truth,  and  praying  that  as  they  could  not  see  each 
other's  thoughts  or  motives,  they  might  have  charity 
for  each  other  and  brotherly  love. 

Just  before  the  prayer.  Bishop  Weaver,  who  was 
in  the  chair  when  the  vote  was  taken,  said :  "I  wish 
there  could  have  been  a  plan  by  which  there  would 
have  been  no  dissenting  voice,  but  it  has  not  been  sa 
for  a  number  of  years.  During  the  past  twenty  years, 
we  have  been  eddying  around,  and  we  have  never  all 
been  able  to  come  to  one  place.  We  are  about  as  near 
it  now  as  at  any  time  in  the  past.  I  now  ask  that  we 
take  it  to  our  hearts,  and  look  over  it,  and  pray  over 
it,  and  look  to  the  dear,  blessed  Master  to  lead  us." 

In  the  election  of  bishops.  Bishop  Weaver  received 
seventy-five  votes.  Bishop  Kephart  seventy-two,. 
Bishop  Castle  fifty-one,  and  Bishop  Dickson  fifty 
votes.  Later,  Bishop  Glossbrenner  was  made  bishop 
emeritus.  This  was  Bishop  Weaver's  election  for  the 
sixth  term. 

When  the  work  of  the  conference  was  done,  Bishop 
Weaver  made  some  touching  remarks  concerning 
Bishop  Glossbrenner.  When  a  man  enters  the  field 
and  begins  the  ministerial  life,  it  is  an  occasion  of 
great  interest  to  him.     So  it  is  when  the  sun  of  life 


The  Battle  of  the  Giants  297 

is  getting  low,  as  it  is  with  Brother  Glossbrenner.  He 
remembers,  and  he  believes  some  others  will  remem- 
ber the  good  work  he  has  done  and  the  help  they  have 
all  received. 

It  was  voted,  the  bishops  should  not  be  districted  as 
before,  but  should  rotate.  Bishop  Weaver,  the  first 
year,  held  the  conferences  in  the  Ohio  District.  On 
his  way  home  from  conference,  he  stopped  over  and 
preached  in  Dayton,  Ohio,  and  later  in  Elkhart,  In- 
diana. In  July,  he  dedicated  a  church  at  North  Man- 
chester, and,  although  not  very  strong,  secured  the 
three  thousand  dollars  needed.  He  dedicated  a 
church  at  Bowlusville,  August  2 ;  was  present  the 
same  month  at  a  camp-meeting  held  near  Lewisburg, 
Ohio.  He  moved  to  Dayton,  Ohio,  early  in  August, 
and  held  the  first  of  his  fall  conferences,  Miami,  in 
Summit  Street  Church,  Dayton,  Ohio,  August  26, 
1885. 

The  Telescope  for  June,  immediately  following 
the  close  of  the  General  Conference,  had  a  communi- 
cation from  his  pen,  entitled  "We  Know  in  Part.'' 
He,  no  doubt,  saw  the  signs  of  the  coming  storm,  and 
hoped  to  turn  it  aside.  The  essence  of  the  article 
was,  that,  concerning  essential  truths  that  are  re- 
vealed, we  must  contend  earnestly;  "but  when  we 
come  to  the  subordinate  and  minor  truths  relating 
to  ecclesiastical  polity,  not  clearly  set  forth  in  the 
gospel,  we  should  be  careful  lest,  in  our  zeal,  we  be- 
come too  dogmatical.  The  Scriptures  do  not  give  us 
in  detail  any  form  of  ecclesiastical  government. 
Hence  it  is  that  good  and  wise  men  often  differ  in 


298  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

their  opinion  as  to  what  is  the  best  thing  to  do.  Upon 
two  things,  I  presume,  all  can  agree:  First,  that  every 
part  and  particle  of  Church  machinery  should  be  ad- 
justed, so  that,  in  the  end,  it  will  bring  the  greatest 
possible  number  of  souls  to  Christ  and  heaven.  Sec- 
ond, that  so  long  as  we  can  only  see  and  know  in 
part,  we  can  well  afford  fervent  charity  among  our- 
selves." In  August,  appeared  another  on  "Manner 
of  Spirit."  "It  is  well  to  be  zealously  affected  in  a 
good  cause,  but  we  must  always  be  sure  that  we  move 
by  the  dictations  of  a  right  spirit." 

There  had  been  a  number  of  articles  in  the  Tele- 
scope, more  or  less  reflecting  on  the  work  to  be  done 
by  the  commission.  On  August  26,  he  writes  a  five- 
column  article,  giving  the  history  of  the  constitu- 
tion and  confession  of  faith,  the  propositions  made 
to  amend  at  various  times ;  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States,  indeed,  of  almost  every  State  in 
the  Union  had  been  amended,  "and  now,  after  forty- 
four  years,  may  not  a  Christian  Church  amend  and 
improve  its  constitution  and  confession  of  faith  ? 
Have  we  learned  nothing  in  all  these  years  ?  Look  at 
our  Discipline  to-day.  Almost  every  rule  in  it  has 
been  changed ;  new  sections  have  been  added,  until 
it  looks  but  little  as  it  did  forty-four  years  ago.  !N'ow 
if  the  exigencies  of  time  and  place  have  made  so 
many  changes  in  our  general  rules  necessary,  may 
not  the  same  be  true  with  regard  to  our  confession 
of  faith  and  constitution  ?" 

He  follows  this,  on  September  2,  with  an  article 
on  "Church  Power."    It  is  not  in  numbers,  wealth, 


The  Battle  of  the  Giayits  299 

or  education,  but  in  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
We  may  make  good  rules  and  regulations,  but  these 
are  not  enough.  The  different  forms  of  church  polity 
show  that  all  people  cannot  agree.  If  we  cannot  make 
all  men  think  alike,  we  must  allow  them  to  differ. 
*'I  have  some  faith  in  law,  but  vastly  more  in  the 
power  and  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  lead  men 
away  from  wrong-doing.  What  the  gospel  fails  to 
reform  will  not  likely  be  reformed.  Give  us  good, 
wholesome  church  rules,  based,  as  nearly  as  may  be, 
on  the  principks  of  the  gospel  of  Christ,  and  then 
give  us  the  enduement  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  we 
shall  go  on  to  victory." 

He  missed  a  train  at  Indianapolis,  and  had  to 
wait  four  hours.  He  did  not  like  waiting,  never  had 
liked  it,  and  didn't  think  he  could,  very  well.  This 
delay,  and  the  effort  to  cultivate  patience,  led  him  to 
philosophize  a  little :  "We  do  not,  and  cannot  always 
know  what  is  best  for  us ;  but  we  do  not  know  how 
it  would  have  been  if  we  had  gone  some  other  way. 
We  know  something  about  the  way  over  which  we 
have  come,  but  nothing  about  the  way  over  which  we 
intended  to  go ;  but  a  wise  and  merciful  Father  di- 
rected otherwise,  and  thus  delivered  us  from  the  dan- 
ger. Among  the  ten  thousand  revelations  that  will 
thrill  the  souls  of  the  saved  in  heaven,  but  few,  if  any, 
will  call  forth  greater  gratitude  than  a  knowledge  of 
the  great  and  tender  care  of  the  Father  in  leading 
them  through  the  dangers  of  this  world." 

He  called  a  meeting  of  the  commission,  to  meet 
in  Dayton,  Ohio,  on  November  17.     He  showed  it 


300  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

would  not  have  been  wise  for  the  General  Confer- 
ence to  have  undertaken  to  formulate  amendments. 
They  had  no  time  to  do  this,  but  when  the  commis- 
sion would  meet,  and  would  take  time,  and  make 
suitable  amendments,  and  the  people  adopt  them, 
these,  then,  would  become  the  law  of  the  Church. 

In  I^ovember,  he  writes :  "Through  the  abundant 
mercy  of  our  kind  Father  in  heaven,  I  have  been 
able  to  complete  my  round  of  fall  conferences  on 
this  (Ohio)  district.  With  one  or  two  exceptions,  it 
has  been  one  of  the  most  pleasant  I  have  been  per- 
mitted to  attend.  There  were  differences  of  opinion 
on  certain  questions  of  Church  polity ;  but,  in  spite  of 
this,  the  conferences  rose  above  it,  and  enjoyed  gra- 
cious seasons  of  refreshing  from  the  presence  of  the 
Lord.  Many  of  these  ministers  made  a  new  conse- 
cration of  themselves  to  the  blessed  work  of  soul-sav- 
ing." He  follows  this  with  an  earnest  appeal  for 
better  pay.  Ministers  with  families  cannot  devote 
their  whole  time  to  the  work,  and  live  on  two  or  three 
hundred  dollars  a  year.  The  men  must  be  better  sup- 
ported, or  they  will  be  driven  from  the  field. 

The  next  issue,  about  the  middle  of  December,  con- 
tained an  article  on  "Brotherly  Kindness,"  setting 
forth  some  of  the  things  done  by  the  General  Con- 
ference of  1873,  and  which  would  have  been  effective 
if  the  bishops  could  have  decided  the  meaning  of 
"two-thirds."  This  was  followed  by  a  Christmas 
article  on  "Glory  to  God  in  the  Highest,"  which 
ended  the  work  of  the  year — a  year  destined  to  be  one 
of  the  most  remarkable  in  all  our  history. 


CHAPTEK  XVII. 

The  .Wobk  of  the  Commission  Explained  and 

Defended.— 1886-1888. 

Of  the  twenty-seven  members  of  the  Church  com- 
mission, twenty-five  came  together  in  Dayton,  Ohio, 
on  the  day  appointed,  November  11,  1885.  Bishop 
Weaver,  as  senior  bishop,  called  the  body  to  order, 
and,  after  devotional  exercises,  made  a  brief  and  im- 
pressive address  on  the  nature  and  importance  of 
their  work,  urging  them  to  have  patience  with  each 
other,  and,  above  all,  to  seek  the  guidance  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  It  was  agreed,  the  bishops  should  pre- 
side in  the  order  of  their  seniority.  They  were  in 
session  about  six  days.  When  the  work  of  revision 
was  done,  they  provided  a  plan  for  submitting  the 
whole  matter  to  the  people.  It  was  agreed  that  the 
vote  should  be  taken  in  E'ovember,  1888,  giving  the 
space  of  three  years  for  a  discussion  of  the  proposed 
changes.  A  general  board  of  tellers  was  appointed, 
of  which  Bishop  Weaver  was  chairman.  All  the  re- 
ports were  to  be  in  by  January  1,  1889,  so  the  tellers 
could  make  report  to  the  board  of  bishops  by  January 
15,  1889.  The  report  of  the  commission  was  pref- 
aced by  an  address  from  the  bishops,  signed  by  all 
except  Bishop  Dickson. 

The  Christian  Conservator  was  started  in  the  main 

301 


302  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

to  oppose  the  work  of  the  commission.  Its  work  was 
attacked  through  the  columns  of  the  Telescope  by 
those  opposed  to  it,  and  as  earnestly  defended  by 
others,  and  among  the  most  earnest  of  opposers  was 
Bishop  Weaver.  The  opposition  continued  even  after 
the  vote  was  taken. 

In  the  Telescope  for  January  13,  1886,  there  ap- 
peared an  article  from  Bishop  Weaver's  pen  in  de- 
fense of  the  last  General  Conference,  which  he  en- 
titles "A  Few  Facts,"  showing  that  the  things  which 
the  radicals  specially  complained  of  in  the  last  Gen- 
eral Conference  had  been  done  by  themselves  a  num- 
ber of  times  before.  The  next  number  contained  an 
article,  entitled  'Tn  a  Short  Time."  It  was  appro- 
priate to  the  beginning  of  the  new  year.  The  days 
are  passing,  and  in  a  short  time  we  shall  all  be  in 
eternity ;  how  little  we  know  of  our  future  condition, 
but  soon  we  shall  know  all.  In  the  next  number  there 
appeared  another  on  the  subject,  "The  Lord  Is  With 
Us,"  suggested  by  the  fact  that  in  some  revivals  re- 
ferred to  in  the  paper  of  the  previous  week,  over  one 
thousand  persons  had  been  added  to  the  Church. 
When  his  birthday  occurred,  he  recorded  the  follow- 
ing: 

"To-day,  February  23,  1886,  I  am  sixty-two  years 
of  age.  God  has  been  very  good  to  me.  He  has  led 
me  in  ways  that  I  had  not  known,  and  that  I  did  not 
choose.  In  a  few  days,  it  will  be  forty  years  since 
I  received  my  first  appointment.  Through  the  bless- 
ing of  God,  I  have  not  been  located  any  time  for 
forty  years ;  never  very  rugged  in  health,  but  nearly 


Work  of  the  Commission  303 

always  able  to  go.  Many  others  have  done  better 
work  than  I  have  been  able  to  do,  but  I  have  worked 
as  hard  as  I  could.  I  have  more  than  once  left  my 
home  when  I  hardly  expected  ever  to  return  alive; 
but  my  engagements  were  out,  and  I  resolved  to  meet 
them  or  die  on  the  way.  In  the  twenty-one  years  I 
have  served  the  Church  in  my  present  relation,  I 
have  not  failed  to  meet  all  my  conferences,  except  in 
one  instance,  when  I  went  to  the  Pacific  Coast,  and 
had  one  of  the  conferences  held  by  Bishop  Gloss- 
brenner. 

"What  awaits  me  in  the  future  I  know  not,  except 
that  I  must  die,  but  when  and  where  I  know  not.  The 
road  may  be  short;  in  the  very  nature  of  things,  it 
cannot  be  long ;  but  I  will  trust  in  Him  who  has  led 
me  thus  far.  Do  you  ask  what  I  would  do  if  I  were 
back  forty  years,  and  had  my  life  to  live  over?  I 
would  be  more  humble,  earnest,  and  devoted;  but  I 
would  not  do  anything  else  but  preach  Jesus  and  him 
crucified.  Do  you  ask  what  I  expect  to  do  in  the 
future  ?  So  long  as  I  am  able  to  stand  I  will  preach 
Jesus  and  him  crucified.  When  too  old  to  stand,  I 
will  trust  in  Jesus  and  the  Church,  and  wait  until 
my  change  comes. 

"May  I  give  a  word  of  exhortation  ?  Having 
passed  over  the  road,  I  know  where  I  made  my  great- 
est failings.  It  was  in  the  fact  that  I  did  not,  in  the 
earlier  part  of  my  ministry,  make  a  full  and  complete 
consecration.  God  cannot  use  a  divided  man  as  he 
can  use  one  who  is  wholly  devoted  to  him.  There- 
fore, I  say  put  all  on  the  altar;  burn  the  bridges 


304  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

behind  you,  launch  out  into  the  deep  sea,  trusting 
in  Jesus. 

"How  have  I  fared  during  these  forty  years  of  itin- 
erant life  ?  Much  better  than  I  deserved.  I  have  not 
become  rich;  but  I  was  poor  when  I  started,  and  I 
have  held  my  own  all  the  way  along.  I  have  more  beds 
to  sleep  in,  and  more  tables  to  sit  down  to  than  many 
rich  men  have,  and  all  for  nothing.  These  good  soft 
beds  and  fine  tables  are  all  furnished  at  somebody 
else's  expense,  and  don't  cost  me  a  cent.  When  I 
die,  if  I  have  not  a  dollar  left,  my  brethren  will  bury 
me  decently.    I  have  faith  in  God  and  in  the  Church. 

"When  I  first  saw  the  light,  there  were  thirteen 
of  use,  including  father  and  mother ;  now  only  five  re- 
main. I  am  the  youngest.  In  the  near  future  we 
shall  all  be  gone ;  but  the  morning  cometh  when  there 
will  be  such  a  reunion  of  scattered  families  as  this 
world  never  saw." 

In  the  issue  of  April  7,  he  comes  to  the  defense  of 
those  who  have  changed  their  views  as  to  certain 
forms  of  Church  polity.  He  had  been  found  fault 
with  because  he  favored  a  different  way  of  dealing 
with  the  question,  from  what  he  favored  years  before. 
He  takes  up  the  various  issues  of  our  book  of  Disci- 
pline, and  shows  how  we  have  changed  it.  Dr.  Davis 
had  helped  to  change  the  polity  of  the  Church  on  edu- 
cational questions.  Bishop  Edwards  had  changed  his 
views  as  to  instrumental  music.  We  have  changed 
our  polity  a  number  of  times  concerning  the  treatment 
of  the  secrecy  question.  "I  suggest  that  those  who 
have  never  favored  any  change  of  any  rule  in  our 


Work  of  the  Commission  305 

Discipline  appoint  a  convention  at  some  convenient 
place,  and  then  all  of  that  class  meet  and  adopt  reso< 
lutions  condemning  every  man  who  has,  at  any  time, 
■changed  his  views  on  any  question  of  church  polity. 
The  fathers  are  all  dead,  and  it  is  well  they  are,  for 
none  of  them  could  be  members  of  such  a  convention. 
This  convention  is  only  for  those  who  have  never,  in 
thought  or  deed,  favored  any  change  in  any  rule  of 
the  Discipline.  I  presume  it  would  be  an  interesting 
gathering  of  live,  progressive  men. 

"Any  man  who  has  not  changed  his  views  on  any; 
question  of  church  polity  within  the  last  twenty  years, 
is  hereby  invited  to  fling  stones  at  me  by  day  and  by 
night.  But  any  man  who,  in  thought,  word,  or  deed, 
has  changed  his  views  with  respect  to  any  rule  in  the 
Discipline,  is  hereby  kindly  invited  to  ask  some  one 
to  fling  stones  at  him.  With  all  my  imperfections 
and  mistakes  in  life, — and  they  are  many, — I  do 
most  solemnly  avow  that  I  have  not  unkind  feelings 
toward  any  man  on  earth,  though  he  may  think  dif- 
ferently from  what  I  do.  I  cannot  afford  to  die  with 
malice  in  my  heart  to  any  man,  living  or  dead."  In 
the  issue  of  our  Church  paper  for  April  14,  under 
*^'The  Church  and  Secret  Societies,"  he  discusses  the 
question.  Should  all  members  of  all  secret  societies 
be  excluded  from  church  fellowship  ?  and,  in  discuss- 
ing, incidentally  shows  the  value  of  what  the  com- 
mission recommmended : 

"Our  trouble,  for  the  most  part,  has  grown  out  of 
the  fact  that,  under  our  constitution  as  it  is,  we  could 
not  discriminate  between  the  orders.     A  large  ma- 


306  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

jority  of  our  ministers  and  members  do  not  believe 
that  all  members  of  all  secret  orders  should  be  ex- 
cluded from  church  fellowship.  I  am  betraying  no 
trust  when  I  say  that  scores  of  radicals  have  told  me 
that  they  would  be  glad  if  some  discrimination  could 
be  made.  Now  I  insist  upon  it  that  some  one  who 
is  capable  take  up  this  line  of  thought  and  show  us 
that  all  the  members  of  all  s^ret  orders  should  be 
excluded  from  church  fellowship.  This  question  set- 
tled beyond  a  doubt,  and  all  our  trouble  is  at  an  end» 
Denouncing  men  and  denouncing  the  acts  of  the  last 
General  Conference  will  not  answer  the  question. 
Years  ago,  when  the  societies  were  less  numerous,  and 
before  I  had  taken  time  to  study  the  nature  of  secret 
orders  in  general,  I  thought  tbe  only  way  was  to 
exclude  all,  indiscriminately.  Since  then  many  bene- 
ficiary societies  have  sprung  up,  and  many  which 
are  short-lived,  so  that  I  have  changed  my  views  with 
respect  to  the  proper  attitude  of  the  Church  toward 
these  orders.  If  I  thought  that  the  Church  could 
win  more  souls  to  Christ  and  heaven  by  indiscrimi- 
nately excluding  all  members  of  all  secret  societies 
from  its  pale,  I  would  advocate  it  with  all  my  might ; 
but  I  do  not  believe  it,  and  therefore  favor  such 
modification  in  our  organic  law  as  will  permit  the 
General  Conference,  from  time  to  time,  to  adopt 
such  rules  as  it  may  deem  wise  and  proper.  There 
is  no  form  of  secrecy  more  detestable  than  for  a  man 
to  cover  up  his  heart,  his  honest  convictions,  and  cow- 
ardly advocate  something  else." 

In  the  issue  for  April  21,  is  an  extract  from  an 


Work  of  the  Commission  307 

address  made  before  the  United  Brethren  Ministerial 
Association  on  "How  We  Shall  Make  the  Fruits  of 
Our  Revivals  Permanent?"  He  recommends:  (1) 
The  pastor  insist  on  thorough  work;  (2)  extra  serv- 
ices should  not  be  closed  suddenly;  (3)  young  con- 
verts should  be  carefully  instructed ;  (4)  much  pas- 
toral labor  is  needed;  (5)  converts  must  be  encour- 
aged to  attend  means  of  grace;  (6)  attention  must  be 
given  to  reading  matter;  (7)  encourage  secret  devo- 
tion; (8)  find  something  for  each  one  to  do. 

Early  in  April,  he  left  Dayton,  in  the  midst  of  a 
snow-storm,  for  Ontario  Conference.  After  much 
difficulty,  he  reached  Detroit,  to  find  two  feet  of  snow 
there,  and  all  trains,  so  far  as  he  could  learn,  lost, 
and  Ontario  Conference  one  hundred  and  seventy- 
five  miles  away.  He  remained  over  night,  took  a 
fresh  start,  went  sixty-five  miles,  and  again  ran  into 
a  snow-drift  where  there  had  not  been  one  for  twenty 
years.  Securing  an  additional  engine,  they  kept 
working  away  for  four  long  hours,  and  all  that  time, 
he  says,  "there  was  on  board  six  feet  four  and  a  half 
inches  of  hungry  humanity  that  could  not  get  any 
dinner,  not  even  a  cup  of  coffee.  The  conference  was 
reached,  however,  and  proved  to  be  an  interesting  ses-' 
sion." 

On  May  5,  he  makes  the  annual  report  for  the  Ohio 
District  for  1885-86:  There  were  278  itinerants, 
159  local  preachers,  38,990  members,  an  increase  of 
2,209  for  the  year.  "During  the  past  five  months, 
several  thousand  have  been  added  to  the  Church, 
which  are  not  included  in  this  report.    It  has  been  a 


308  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

year  of  great  prosperity.  The  ministers,  for  the  most 
part,  have  worked  hard,  and  have  gathered  in  a  rich 
harvest.  So  far  as  I  have  the  means  of  knowing,  the 
revivals  have  been  thorough.  Regeneration  has  been 
insisted  upon;  nearly  all  who  have  been  received 
into  the  Church  have  professed  a  change  of  heart; 
with  little  exception,  peace  and  Harmony  prevail." 

Those  who  were  opposed  to  any  change  of  constitu- 
tion insisted,  in  their  public  writings,  that  we  should 
"adhere  closely  to  the  constitution  and  confession  of 
faith  unchanged,  as  they  descended  to  us  from  the 
fathers."  Bishop  Weaver,  in  his  inimitable  way,  in- 
quires who  are  meant  by  "the  fathers."  Usually  he 
has  included  in  this  list  Otterbein  and  Boehm  and 
Guething,  but  the  Discipline,  confession  of  faith,  and 
constitution  did  not  descend  from  them.  Boehm  and 
Guething  died  in  1812,  and  Otterbein  in  1813.  The 
Discipline  and  confession  of  faith  were  adopted  in 
1815,  and  the  constitution  in  1841.  So  these  men 
could  not  be  the  fathers  referred  to.  They  could  not 
be  IN'ewcomer,  Draksel,  or  Crum,  for  these  were  all 
in  heaven  before  the  adoption  of  the  constitution. 

"The  United  Brethren  Church,  under  God,  is  a 
growth.  Step  by  step  she  has  steadily  advanced.  As 
higher  degrees  of  light  from  the  divine  Word  fell 
upon  her,  she  changed  her  method  of  work,  but  always 
maintained  her  fundamental  doctrine  and  repub- 
lican principles  of  government.  To-day  the  Church 
is  almost  a  unit  on  the  great  doctrines  of  Christianity. 
Our  difference  of  opinion  is  upon  rules  of  discipline. 
Whatever  others  may  think,  and  whatever  they  do, 


Work  of  the  Commission  309 

I  am  firm  in  my  convictions  that  God,  in  his  own 
good  time,  will  lead  the  Church  out  of,  and  beyond 
these  differences  into  a  broad  field  of  usefulness." 

He  attended  conference  in  Dunkirk,  Ohio,  in  the 
fall  of  1885,  and  was  asked  by  one  or  two  men  if  he 
would  come  and  give  them  a  lecture  during  the  win- 
ter. He  consented  if  they  would  make  arrangements. 
In  due  time,  he  gave  the  lecture,  and  found  that  the 
men  who  had  secured  him  were  members  of  the 
G.  A.  R.  The  lecture  was  in  the  United  Brethren 
church.  A  few  soldiers  were  present,  but  there  were 
not  many  in  the  county.  They  had  no  regalia  on,  but 
were  there  as  citizens,  like  other  men.  Very  soon  his 
opponents  were  circulating  that  he  was  going  about 
lecturing  for  the  G.  A.  R.,  meaning  to  teach  thereby 
that  he  was  favoring  secret  societies.  After  giving 
this  explanation  of  the  affair,  he  says:  "I  suppose 
from  this  time  on  we  will  not  dare  to  take  any  part 
in  the  decoration  of  soldiers'  graves.  It  will  be  a  little 
risky  even  to  pray  for  soldiers,  unless  we  make  excep- 
tion of  the  G.  A.  R.  I  have  several  times  preached 
at  funerals  for  members  of  secret  sociteties,  but  from 
this  on  I  must  not  do  it,  lest  some  one  will  publish 
that  I  am  going  about  preaching  in  favor  of  secrecy. 
Those  who,  a  few  days  ago,  took  part  in  the  memorial 
services  had  better  look  out.  Perhaps  we  had  better 
not  shake  hands  with  an  old  soldier,  unless  we  find 
out  for  sure  that  he  is  not  a  member  of  the  G.  A.  R. 
T  live  near  the  Soldiers'  Home.  I  see  many  soldiers 
about,  every  day ;  some  with  one  limb  off,  some  with 
an  arm  gone,  some  blind,  others  crippled  in  many 


310  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

ways.  I  suppose  I  had  better  keep  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  street.     So  it  goes." 

Rev.  I.  L.  Buchwalter,  in  a  communication  to  the 
press,  intimated  that  the  constitution  should  not  only 
oppose  secrecy,  but  discriminate  between  the  orders. 
Bishop  Weaver  showed  that  this  could  not  be  done, 
for  what  would  be  appropriate  this  year  would  not  be 
next.  Constitutions  are  hard  to  change.  Better 
adopt  principles,  and  then  let  the  General  Conference 
apply  them.  He  then  closes  his  reply  with  this  beau- 
tiful sentiment: 

"Personally,  I  have  no  quarrel  with  any  one.  I 
cannot  afford  it,  I  have  my  convictions  as  to  what 
is  for  the  best  interests  of  the  Church.  Some  very 
wicked  things  have  been  said  and  written  about  me,  to 
which  I  have  not  replied,  and  probably  never  shaU. 
I  have  faith  in  God  and  our  people.  If  what  I  have 
contended  for  is  wrong,  the  Lord  will  overrule  it.  I 
have  not,  in  word  or  deed,  intentionally  injured  any 
one.  If  those  who  have  said  the  most  bitter  things 
about  me  should  ever  be  in  distress,  in  either  body  or 
mind,  I  am  ready  to  render  them  any  assistance  in 
my  power.    The  Judge  of  all  the  earth  will  do  right." 

The  contest  over  the  work  of  the  commission  went 
on.  A  number  of  articles  appeared,  both  for  and 
against,  in  the  columns  of  the  Telescope  for  1886, 
from  the  pens  of  able  writers,  but,  after  all.  Bishop 
Weaver  was  expected  to  bear  the  brunt  of  the  oppo- 
sition. A  number  of  conventions  were  held  by  the 
opposition,  in  which  the  Church,  the  General  Confer- 
ence, and  the  Telescope  were  attacked.     Utterances 


Wbr/c  of  the  Commission  311 

were  made  shadowing  forth  a  purpose  on  the  part  of 
some  to  break  oif  from  the  Church.  A  meeting  was 
called  to  assemble  within  the  bounds  of  White  River 
Conference,  at  which  time  it  was  contemplated  to  take 
decided  steps  toward  separation. 

A  paper  was  sent  to  Bishop  Weaver,  signed  by  a 
number  of  the  members  in  one  of  the  conferences, 
protesting  against  the  bishop  assigned  to  preside 
at  the  coming  session.  The  grounds  upon  which 
it  was  based  were  that  he  had  endorsed  the  work 
of  the  commission;  in  other  words,  he  was  will- 
ing to  abide  by  the  act  and  decision  of  the  Gen- 
eral Conference,  Bishop  Weaver  answered  the  pro- 
test kindly,  in  substance,  as  follows:  "(1)  Nine 
years  ago,  if  a  bishop  had  refused  to  abide  by  the  acts 
of  the  General  Conference,  these  very  brethren  would 
have  called  him  a  rebel.  (2)  If  we  are  not  governed 
by  the  decrees  of  the  General  Conference,  by  whose 
authority  are  we  to  be  governed?  (3)  If  an  officer 
declares  he  will  not  carry  out  the  laws  and  rules  of  the 
Oeneral  Conference,  he  should  be  deposed  from  office. 
(4)  When  men  say  they  will  not  abide  by  the  laws 
of  the  General  Conference,  they  are  in  a  state  of  re- 
bellion. (5)  Some  say  they  will  abide  by  the  Dis- 
cipline of  1881,  but  that  is  dead;  if  we  can  go  back 
that  long,  we  can  go  back  forty  years;  a  few  years 
ago,  such  talk  would  have  been  called  disloyal.  (6) 
This  protest  is  not  based  on  official  delinquency,  nor 
want  of  ability,  nor  immorality,  but  because  of  loy- 
alty; just  think  of  it!  (7)  There  is  no  judicial  au- 
thority above  the  General  Conference.      (8)   If  a 


312  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

bishop  would  announce  that  he  would  not  be  governed 
by  the  laws  and  rules  of  the  General  Conference,  what 
would  he  be  governed  by?  (9)  We  cannot  reject  a 
part  of  it;  we  are  bound  to  all,  or  none.  (10)  It  is 
an  easy  thing  to  sign  a  protest,  but  men  should  con- 
sider well  the  grounds  on  which  the  protest  stands." 

He  was  at  the  Stoverdale,  Pennsylvania,  camp- 
meeting  on  the  third  of  August  He  had  thus  far 
attended  three,  and  had  two  yet  before  him.  He 
heard  Mr.  and  Mrs.  West  present  the  interests  of  the 
Woman's  Missionary  Association,  and  this  led  him  to 
say  some  very  kind  things  about  the  work:  "These 
women  just  beat  the  world.  They  go  along  and  go 
ahead  as  if  they  had  some  grand  enterprise  on  hand. 
They  pay  but  little  attention  to  vexed  questions.  They 
seem  to  be  wrapped  up  in  the  one  idea  of  saving  souls. 
I  believe  I  should  as  soon  take  their  chances  for 
heaven  as  the  chances  of  those  who,  in  one  way  or 
another,  have  stood  in  the  way  of  the  blessed  cause." 

When  his  work  was  done  here,  he  returned  to  Day- 
ton, Ohio.  He  soon  after  held  Parkersburg  Confer- 
ence, September  15,  at  Pennsboro,  West  Virginia,  and 
later  Allegheny  Conference,  at  Conemaugh,  Pennsyl- 
vania; East  German  at  Shamokin,  Pennsylvania, 
September  30. 

The  Tennessee  Conference  had  been  held  at  White 
Pine.  He  speaks  hopefully  of  the  conference,  and 
of  the  men  who  are  trying  to  build  it  up.  He  writes 
from  Lebanon,  Kentucky :  "I  am  in  usual  luck  to- 
day. Reached  this  city  at  four  o'clock  this  morning. 
Here  I  must  remain  twelve  hours,  in  order  to  get  a 


Work  of  the  Commission  313 

train  leading  in  the  direction  of  the  Kentucky  Con- 
ference, which  meets  this  week.  I  have  twenty  miles 
by  rail,  then  twenty  by  stage,  and  several  miles  in 
some  other  way.  This  is  extra  work.  Bishop  Dick- 
son was  to  hold  this  conference,  but  he  made  rather 
a  poor  mouth  about  it,  and  so,  as  I  had  to  go  to  Ten- 
nessee, I  agreed  to  hold  it  for  him.  The  only  diffi- 
culty that  may  grow  out  of  it  will  be  in  dividing  the 
funds.     I  trust  we  shall  have  no  quarrel. 

"But,  notwithstanding  my  long  delay  at  this  place, 
I  can  turn  it  to  pretty  good  advantage.  There  is  a 
circus  that  shows  here  to-day,  and  I  have  never  been 
to  one  in  my  life,  and  nobody  hereabouts  knows  me, 
and — well,  you  can  imagine  the  rest*  The  proces- 
sion has  just  passed  by.  I  saw  the  elephant  with  my 
own  eyes.  Then  I  saw  a.  dog,  a  wolf,  and  the  pictures 
of  lots  of  other  animals.  But  the  finest  picture  of  all 
was  the  crowd  that  followed  the  procession — all  sizes, 
ages,  colors,  men  leading  little  boys  and  girls,  women 
with  infants  in  their  arms,  pushing,  jamming,  and 
crowding  along;  many  of  them  poorly  clad,  but,  no 
matter,  they  are  going  to  the  show.  Families  which 
are  sorely  in  need  of  bread  and  clothing  are  jostling 
along  in  the  crowd,  with  no  thought  that  will  rise 
an  inch  above  an  elephant's  back.  They  will  spend 
their  last  cent  to  see  a  few  men  and  women  act  the 
fool. 

"A  good  place  this  is  to  study  human  nature.  I 
may  be  a  poor  judge  of  human  nature.  Perhaps  I 
am  like  a  certain  judge  in  his  first  charge  to  a  jury. 
'Gentlemen,'  he  said,  'this  is  new  business  to  me. 


314  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

This  is  the  first  time  I  ever  charged  a  jury ;  but  you 
have  heard  all  the  testimony  from  both  sides;  you 
have  heard  the  law  as  explained  and  defended  by  the 
lawyers.  Now  if  you  believe  what  the  attorney  for 
the  plaintiff  said,  you  will  give  the  case  in  his  favor. 
If  you  believe  what  the  attorney  for  the  defendant 
says,  you  will  give  the  case  in  his  favor ;  but  if  you 
are  like  me,  and  don't  believe  what  either  one  said, 
then  I  '11  be  blamed  if  I  know  what  you  will  do.'  So 
I  am  puzzled  to  know  what  to  do  with  human  nature 
when  I  see  it  developed  as  I  do  this  day." 

The  month  of  November  finds  him  at  the»  old  home- 
stead, concerning  which  he  writes  as  follows : 

"In  a  recent  visit  to  eastern  Ohio,  I  determined  to 
visit  the  place  of  my  birth.  In  company  with  John 
Moore,  of  CarroUton,  Ohio,  a  brother-in-law,  we  set 
out  for  the  place.  The  day  was  cold  and  stormy, 
but  my  anxiety  to  see  the  old  home  made  the  trip 
much  easier  than  it  otherwise  would  have  been.  About 
fifty  years  have  come  and  gone  since  I  left  it.  Then 
I  was  only  a  boy ;  am  I  the  same  person  I  was  then  ? 
Now  I  am  old  and  gray-headed.  In  spite  of  all  these 
changes,  I  feel  I  am  the  same  person.  Here  is  the 
old  farm.  Here  I  spent  my  boyhood  days.  Some 
things  are  the  same,  but  how  much  is  changed.  What 
havoc  time  has  made  of  the  old  orchard.  Here  are 
the  wild  cherry,  chestnut,  gum,  and  one  solitary  hick- 
ory, where  I  gathered  nuts,  long  ago.  Here  is  the 
spring  where  I  used  to  slake  my  thirst,  and  there  the 
lower  spring  where  we  watered  the  stock.  Over  there 
in  that  field  I  used  to  hoe  corn  with  heavy  hoes  made 


Work  of  the  Commission  315 

by  the  village  blacksmith.  In  that  field  I  gathered 
sheaves,  and  in  that  meadow  spread  the  grass,  and 
pitched  and  raked  the  hay  into  heaps.  Here  is  the 
corner-stone  in  the  foundation  where  the  house  used 
to  stand.  As  I  stood  on  that  stone,  thronging  mem- 
ories came  rushing  back.  Around  that  old  hearth 
we  used  to  sit  and  spend  the  long  winter  evenings — 
father,  mother,  brothers,  and  sisters.  When  the  older 
ones  that  were  married  would  come  home  to  spend  an 
evening,  being  the  youngest  in  the  circle,  I  was  a 
happy  boy.  Only  five  of  us  are  left,  and  we  must 
soon  make  that  mysterious  journey.  Are  those  who 
have  gone  from  me  lost  forever  ?  I  cannot,  I  will  not 
believe  it.  .  .  .  What  my  boyish  hopes  were  in 
the  years  long  gone,  I  need  not  tell.  Sujffice  it  to 
say,  I  have  not  attained  unto  the  ideal  man.  I  have 
not  traveled  the  road  I  intended  to  travel.  Maybe 
the  other  road  would  have  been  more  difficult  than  the 
one  over  which  I  have  come.  ...  I  called  to  see 
my  old  schoolmaster,  Mr.  S.  Highland.  He  is  now 
not  far  from  fourscore  years  old.  At  first,  he  did  not 
know  me ;  but  it  only  took  a  moment  to  brush  away 
the  dust  from  the  page  of  memory,  and  all  was  clear, 
especially  when  I  reminded  him  that  once  and  again 
he  had  taken  the  liberty  to  knock  the  dust  from  my 
roundabout  by  means  of  a  birch  stick.  Along  this 
line  memory  is  true  to  her  trust. 

"My  time  is  up,  and  I  must  go.  One  more  glance 
at  the  old  homestead — good-by,  I  shall  see  thee  no 
more.  Father,  mother,  brothers,  sisters,  who  have 
crossed  the  river,  good-by.    We  shall  never  meet  again 


316  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

around  that  old  family  hearth,  but  in  the  morning  it 
shall  be  well.  If  the  sneering  skeptic  wants  to  go 
down  into  the  dark  waters  of  eternal  f orgetfulness,  I 
cannot  help  it;  but  as  for  me  and  mine  we  will  live 
and  die  in  the  God-inspiring  hope  that  in  the  morning 
it  shall  be  well." 

He  was  advised  to  take  a  little  rest.  He  said: 
"This  is  the  first  time  in  forty  years  that  I  have  done 
so.  My  fall  work  has  taxed  me  a  little  more  than 
usual."     His  year  ended  with  the  following  earnest 


"The  past  year  has  been  a  year  of  wonderful  reviv- 
als. Thousands  of  souls  were  gathered  into  the  fold 
of  Christ.  Never  in  the  history  of  the  United  Breth- 
ren Church  have  there  been  clearer  evidences  of  the 
Lord's  willingness  to  help  us  than  now.  Shall  we  not 
accept  these  indications,  and  work  as  never  before? 
The  fall  conferences,  with  but  few  exceptions,  were 
not  only  harmonious,  but  spiritual.  The  ministers 
and  laymen,  where  they  had  lay  delegates,  went  out 
more  determined  than  ever  to  save  souls.  I  am  pray- 
ing for  and  expecting  fifty  thousand  souls  for  Jesus 
this  year.  The  Master  is  willing,  the  Holy  Spirit  is 
vdlling,  and  the  angels  are  willing.  Are  you  ready 
to  unite  with  the  heavenly  host  in  an  onward  move- 
ment for  souls  ?" 

The  year  188 Y  finds  him  busy  with  pen  and  voice, 
doing  all  he  can  to  prepare  the  Church  to  properly 
vote  on  the  amended  constitution.  He  kept  up  a  very 
extended  correspondence,  appealing  to  men,  allaying 
their   prejudices,   helping  them  to  understand   the 


Work  of  the  Commission  317 

points  at  issue,  and,  in  this  way,  he  did  very  much 
to  swell  the  vote  when  finally  taken.  During  the 
year,  at  intervals,  appeared  articles  in  the  Telescope 
on  "The  General  Conference  of  1873,"  "The  Work 
of  the  Commission,"  "That  Thursday  Night,"  "The 
Constitution  of  1837  and  1841,"  "Questions  An- 
swered," "Will  It  Stand  the  Test?"  and  others. 
While  interested  in  this,  he  was  not  forgetful  of  other 
wants  of  the  Church,  but,  like  a  faithful  overseer, 
sought  to  help  where  help  was  most  needed.  Articles 
appeared  on  "Our  Mission  Debt,"  "That  Thanksgiv- 
ing Rally,"  "An  Open  Letter  to  the  Sisters,"  "That 
Thank-Offering." 

Concerning  the  mission  debt  of  sixty  thousand  dol- 
lars, and  our  ability  to  meet  it,  he  says :  "We  have 
two  hundred  thousand  members,  and  if  one  hundred 
and  forty  thousand  of  these  did  not  pay  anything,  the 
balance  would  only  need  to  pay  one  dollar  each  to  pay 
it  all  off.  I  would  like  to  have  a  day  set  apart,  when 
the  members  of  the  United  Brethren  Church  would 
get  on  their  religious  muscles  and  give  it  a  lift ;  that 
would  do ;  just  one  lift,  and  all  would  be  over  so  far 
as  the  debt  is  concerned.  Let  us  make  the  coming 
Thanksgiving  the  time  for  this." 

During  all  of  these  discussions  on  the  work  of  the 
commission,  he  kept  his  temper  in  spite  of  many  un- 
pleasant insinuations  against  his  supposed  vacillation. 
He  ended  an  article,  July  13,  1887,  with  these  words: 
"Some  things  not  very  complimentary  have  been  said 
about  me,  because  I  have  advocated  these  changes,  but 
no  matter  for  that.    If  those  who  have  said  the  hard- 


318  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

est  things  will  call  at  my  home,  I  will  give  them  the 
best  bed  and  the  best  dinner  my  wife  and  daughters 
can  prepare.  'We  shall  know  each  other  better  when 
the  mists  have  cleared  away.'  " 

On  being  asked,  on  one  occasion,  as  to  what  would 
be  the  result  if  a  certain  vote  were  had,  he  said :  "The 
whole  matter  is  before  the  Church,  with  plenty  of 
time  to  read  up  on  both  sides,  and  when  the  time 
comes,  let  the  people  vote.  I  have  the  utmost  confi- 
dence in  the  honesty  and  intelligence  of  our  people. 
If  two-thirds  do  not  want  any  change,  then  let  us  go 
on  as  heretofore;  but  if  two-thirds  think  we  can  do 
more  for  Christ  and  his  cause  by  having  some  change, 
it  seems  to  me  that  we  ought  to  have  it.  Whatever  be- 
comes of  the  work  of  the  commission,  whether  it  goes 
up  or  down,  I  am  a  United  Brethren.  My  relation 
to  the  Church  does  not  turn  upon  the  work  of  the 
commission.  While  I  firmly  believe  that  the  amended 
constitution  and  confession  of  faith,  as  recommended 
by  the  commission,  are  better  than  what  we  now 
have,  yet,  if  two-thirds  of  those  that  vote  do  not  think 
so,  I  shall  go  right  on  working  as  hard  as  I  can." 

During  the  summer,  he  was  in  the  oil  region,  from 
which  he  sent  back  the  following  communication : 

"I  am  not  very  much  of  a  geologist,  but  it  seems  to 
me  that  if  they  keep  on  boring  holes  in  the  ground 
and  drawing  out  gas  in  such  vast  quantities,  by  and 
by  they  will  cause  a  great  vacuum  down  below;  and 
as  nature  abhors  a  vacuum,  it  may  be  there  will  be  a 
collapse  down  there,  and  if  that  should  occur,  it  might 
produce  something  of  a  fracas  on  the  surface ;  if  not. 


Work  of  the  Commission  319 

why  not?  I  do  not  live  in  an  oil  region.  There  is 
gas  enough  in  Dayton,  but  it  is  all  on  the  surface,  and 
will  not  do  any  harm.    It  will  not  burn." 

In  the  fall  of  this  year,  he  started  to  visit  the  Kan- 
sas conferences.  After  leaving  Indianapolis,  the  cars 
were  very  much  crowded.  "I  made  a  rush  for  a 
seat,  but  it  was  no  go.  Everything  was  chock  full. 
A  third  train  was  made  up,  and  between  nip  and  tuck 
I  got  a  seat  in  a  rickety  old  car  where  every  seat  was 
full,  two  in  a  seat.  The  train  pulled  out.  We  had 
not  gone  far  until  it  was  found  that  one  train  was  too 
heavy,  and  had  to  be  cut  in  two.  In  passing  through 
a  chair-car,  hunting  for  a  better  seat,  I  stopped  by  the 
side  of  a  large,  fat  man,  who  filled  his  chair  quite 
full,  and  a  little  more,  and  asked  if  he  would  please 
move  over  a  little  and  give  me  a  part  of  his  seat.  At 
first  he  looked  at  me  with  a  little  surprise,  but  in 
a  moment  he  caught  the  idea,  and  said,  'My  friend, 
you  can  see  for  yourself  that  the  chance  for  a  seat  by 
my  side  is  decidedly  thin.' 

"About  midnight,  it  got  quite  cold  in  the  car  I  was 
in,  and  the  passengers  became  very  restless.  The 
brakeman  made  an  effort  to  get  a  fire  started,  but  did 
not  succeed.  Finally,  an  old  gentleman  stood  up  at 
the  other  end  of  the  car  and  said :  "Ladies  and  gen- 
tlemen, I  do  not  know  how  it  is  with  you ;  I  only  wish 
to  speak  for  myself,  personally  and  individualh^ 
The  fact  is,  I  am  cold,  but  not  as  cold  as  I  was  some 
time  ago,  for  I  have  been  getting  mad  for  a  little  over 
an  hour.  If  no  fire  is  built,  in  a  short  time  I  will 
be  myself  again,  and  then — .'     The  fire  was  soon 


320  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

started,  and  from  that  time  on  we  were  comfortably 
warm." 

During  the  year  1888,  he  met  his  conferences, 
looked  after  the  work  of  his  district,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  kept  his  pen  busy  giving  information  to  those 
who  were  anxious  to  do  the  best  possible  thing  for 
the  Church.  Letter  after  letter  went  out  to  those  who 
were  halting  between  two  opinions,  and  many  of 
them  were  led  to  decide  for  the  amended  constitution. 
As  a  specimen  of  the  sort  of  work  he  did,  one  man 
to  whom  he  had  earnestly  written  said  to  him,  years 
after,  "Bishop,  how  is  it  that  when  I  decided  to  re- 
main with  the  Church  after  it  adopted  the  new  con- 
stitution, you  did  not  write  to  me  any  more?" 
"Well,  to  be  frank,"  said  Bishop  Weaver,  "I  had  so 
much  of  that  kind  of  correspondence  on  hand,  that 
when  I  had  you  safely  landed,  I  dropped  you  to  look 
after  somebody  else."  One  who  examines  the  Tele- 
scope for  the  year  will  find  article  after  article  on 
this  and  kindred  subjects,  such  as,  "Are  Secret  Com- 
binations Sinful  ?"  "Will  It  Stand  the  Test  ?"  "Our 
Confession  of  Faith,"  "Our  Mission  Debt,"  "A  Few 
Things,"  "The  New  Creed"  (three  articles),  "Reviv- 
als of  Religion,"  "Conferences  of  1837  and  1841," 
"About  That  'Not,'  "  "Himian  Sympathy,"  with  six 
articles  on  "From  Bethlehem  to  Calvary  and  Be- 
yond." 

For  some  who  thought  the  confession  of  faith  and 
constitution  were  made  perfect  in  the  beginning,  he 
sends  these  farewell  words:  "At  one  time,  Spain 
held  all  the  regions  around  and  about  the  Strait  of 


Work  of  the  Commission  321 

Gibraltar.  She  was  proud  of  her  possession,  so  she 
had  the  words,  'Ne  plus  ultra/  which  mean  'no  more 
beyond,'  struck  upon  her  coins.  One  day,  a  bold 
spirit  struck  out  beyond  the  strait,  and  found  a  new 
and  beautiful  world.  Convinced  of  her  mistake,  she 
struck  ne  from  her  coins,  but  left  the  words,  plus 
ultra,  more  beyond.  It  seems  to  me  that  some  men 
to-day  must  have  a  few  of  these  Spadish  coins  in  their 
jacket  pockets,  and  ever  and  anon  take  them  out  and 
read  and  sing  the  beautiful  words,  Ne  plus  ultra. 
Mind,  I  do  not  affirm  this,  I  only  say  it  seems  to  me.  I 
most  sincerely  wish  that  every  member  of  the  Church 
would  take  the  confession  of  faith  as  it  is  in  the  Dis- 
cipline and  compare  it  with  the  amended  confession, 
recommended  by  the  commission,  and  then  vote  for 
whichever  one  is  the  most  clear  and  satisfactory." 

This  brought  him  to  the  time  when  the  ballots  were 
being  cast,  and  the  opinion  of  the  Church  ascertained. 
He  had  done  his  very  best  to  place  the  matter  clearly 
and  plainly  before  the  people.  If  they  would  prop- 
erly consider  the  matter  and  vote  intelligently,  he 
would  cheerfully  abide  the  result.  It  had  been  for 
him  a  very  laborious  task,  demanding  all  the  patience, 
prudence,  wisdom,  and  skill  which  he  was  able  to  com- 
mand. He  was  looked  to  as  the  towering  Moses  who 
was  to  lead  them  into  what  seemed  to  him  the  prom- 
ised land.  If  there  should  be  a  failure,  it  would  not 
be  because  of  any  lack  of  effort  on  his  part. 

The  vote  was  taken  in  !N"ovember,  1888.  IN'early 
55,000  votes  in  all  were  cast.  For  the  confession  of 
faith,  50,965;  against  the  confession  of  faith,  3,296; 


322  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

for  the  amended  constitution,  50,586;  against  the 
amended  constitution,  3,643 ;  for  lay  delegation^ 
48,722 ;  against  lay  delegation,  5,618 ;  for  sections  on 
secret  societies,  46,900 ;  against  sections  on  secret  so- 
cieties, 7,273.  The  Church  had  approved  his  judg- 
ment and  work. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Befoee  the  Couets. 

Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  a  large  majority 
of  the  Church  had  voted  to  adopt  the  revised  con- 
fession of  faith  and  improved  constitution,  it  soon 
became  evident  that  our  Radical  friends,  who  had 
left  us  at  York  and  organized  a  church  of  their  own 
under  the  old  name,  did  not  intend  to  submit  with- 
out a  struggle.  It  was  not  long  before  we  had  that 
unseemly  sight  of  two  branches  of  the  Christian 
church  making  war  upon  each  other  in  the  courts 
of  the  land.  In  order  to  settle  matters  as  speedily 
as  possible,  in  opposition  to  the  loud  boasting  of  the 
Radical  wing  that  they  would  soon  have  possession  of 
the  Publishing  House,  which  of  right,  they  asserted, 
belonged  to  their  branch  of  the  Church,  the  trustees 
brought  suit  to  quiet  the  title.  On  the  other  side,  in 
the  various  States,  the  Radicals  themselves  brought 
suit  to  gain  possession  of  local  churches.  These  legal 
suits  continued  for  six  or  more  years,  keeping  the 
Church  more  or  less  distracted  much  of  the  time,  and 
finally  ended  in  the  sustaining  of  the  Liberal  Church 
by  the  highest  authorities  of  all  the  States,  save  per- 
haps one. 

In  all  of  these  it  was  to  be  expected  that  Bishop 
Weaver  would  play  a  very  important  part.     When 


324  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

he  had  joined  the  Church  it  consisted  of  say  20,000 
members,  and  thus  most  of  its  membership  had  come 
in  during  his  lifetime.  Its  various  departments  of 
church  work  had  been  organized  since  that  time.  He 
had  been  a  bishop  continuously  since  1865,  and  thus 
a  member  of  each  General  Conference  since  that  time. 
He  was  familiar  with  all  the  legislation,  and  helped 
to  control  much  of  it.  He  had  helped  to  blaze  the 
way  for  the  appointment  of  the  commission;  had 
helped  to  explain  and  defend  it  and  secure  its  final 
approval  by  the  Church.  If  there  was  any  one  man 
living  who  knew  the  spirit  and  history  of  this  de- 
nomination, this  was  the  man.  So  all  eyes  were 
turned  toward  him  as  by  all  odds  the  most  competent 
witness  to  give  testimony  as  to  the  things  done  and 
the  spirit  in  which  they  were  done.  All  who  were 
conversant  with  the  circumstances  affirm  that  he  ac- 
quitted himself  well  here,  just  as  he  had  done  in  other 
departments  of  church  work. 

The  editor  of  the  Telescope,  in  the  issue  for  July 
1,  1891,  speaking  of  Bishop  Weaver  in  connection 
with  the  Publishing  House  case,  says :  "He  was  on 
the  stand  nearly  the  entire  day.  During  his  direct 
examination,  which  was  very  exhaustive,  the  bishop 
was  at  his  best ;  his  testimony  was  clear,  ringing,  and 
unequivocal.  On  the  cross-examination,  which  lasted 
several  hours,  he  was  ready  and  self-possessed,  and, 
despite  the  persistent  and  ingenious  efforts  of  the 
seceders'  attorney  to  weaken  the  force  of  the  bishop's 
convincing  testimony,  he  did  not  succeed  in  doing  so 
in  a  single  case.     Said  a  lawyer  of  prominence. 


Before  the  Courts  325 

'Bishop  Weaver  rose  to  the  sublime  in  his  answers  in 
his  cross-examination.'  Those  who  testified  against 
him,  and  who  have  so  bitterly  and  so  frequently  as- 
saulted him  without  cause,  paled  into  the  merest 
pygmies  in  his  presence.  He  made  the  impression  of 
being  a  man  of  honest  convictions  and  sound  judg- 
ment, and  they  of  being  mere  quibblers  about  words 
and  dead  forms.  He  impressed  the  court,  as  we  be- 
lieve, and  the  great  body  of  spectators  present,  that 
he  is  an  honest  man,  and  that  the  revision  of  our  con- 
stitution and  confession  of  faith  had  been  legally;, 
faithfully,  and  religiously  made." 

Dr.  J.  P.  Landis,  of  Union  Biblical  Seminary,  who 
was  present  at  a  number  of  these  trials,  has  prepared 
for  us,  at  our  request,  the  following  statement:  "I 
was  with  Bishop  Weaver  in  our  Church  trials  with 
the  Radicals  in  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  and  Pennsyl- 
vania. On  the  witness-stand  he  was  always  calm,  de- 
liberate, self-possessed,  and,  no  matter  how  severe  and 
close  the  examination,  he  was  always  master  of  the 
situation.  The  examining  attorney  soon  learned  that 
he  must  be  careful  how  he  approached  the  bishop,  or 
he  himself  would  come  off  punctured.  His  habit  was 
to  take  the  confessions  of  faith  in  parallel  columns, 
compare  them  item  by  item,  and  show  that  there  is  in 
no  article  of  the  new  any  substantial  difference  from 
the  old ;  that  what  is  not  expressly  stated  in  the  old 
which  is  explicitly  put  in  the  new,  is  surely  implied 
in  the  old.  Sometimes  he  would  dwell  at  length 
upon  their  points  of  coincidence,  elaborating  and 
proving  by  Scripture  citations,  at  which  he  was  an 


326  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

expert.  At  the  trial  in  Pontiac,  Illinois,  he  was  un- 
usually extended  and  uncommonly  happy  in  what  he 
said  on  the  'change  of  heart,'  of  which  our  Radical 
brethren  had  tried  to  make  a  strong  point.  The  op- 
posing lawyer  was  a  good  deal  worried  and  vexed  at 
the  court  allowing  the  bishop  to  inject  so  much  'argu- 
ment' as  he  said,  contending  that  was  the  business 
of  the  lawyers  and  not  of  the  witness.  He  indig- 
nantly remarked,  'Well,  I  guess  we  might  as  well  have 
printed  that  sermon  on  the  heart.'  The  bishop 
quietly  remarked,  'O  Mr.  Strawn,  you  must  pardon 
me;  you  know  preaching  is  my  business,  and  when- 
ever I  come  across  a  man  who  I  think  needs  the  gos- 
pel, I  give  it  to  him.'  This  brought  down  the  house, 
to  the  discomfort  of  the  lawyer. 

"In  the  trial  in  Chambersburg,  Pennsylvania,  Mr. 
Bowers,  the  cross-examining  attorney,  tried  to  be  se- 
vere, but  was  calmly  met,  and  foiled  at  every  point. 
He  had  lying  on  the  table  a  printed  copy  of  one  of 
the  bishop's  former  lectures  on  secret  societies,  in 
which  the  bishop  used  some  pretty  severe  words 
against  the  orders.  In  a  somewhat  confident,  if  not 
pompous  manner,  Mr.  Bowers  said,  'I  have  something 
here  which  I  think  you  will  be  interested  in,  bishop.' 
Then  taking  up  the  pamphlet,  he  read  marked  pas- 
sages, in  which  occurred  the  bishop's  severest  words. 
The  lawyer  read  them  with  as  much  emphasis  and 
virulence  as  he  could  command,  and  then,  with  an 
air  of  triumphant  expectancy,  asked  the  bishop,  'Did 
you  ever  hear  anything  like  that?'  'Yes,'  said  the 
bishop,  'that  sounds  a  little  familiar.'    'Did  you  write 


Before  the  Courts  327 

that  V  'It  is  probable,  though  I  could  tell  better  if 
I  should  see  it.'  'Well,'  asked  the  lawyer,  'what  do 
you  think  of  it?'  The  bishop  promptly  replied, 
'Well,  considering  my  age  when  that  was  done,  I 
think  it  was  pretty  well  done.'  This  also  caused  an 
uproar  of  laughter.  Then  he  explained  that  what 
was  there  expressed  was  once  his  sentiment,  but  that 
he  had  since  changed  his  mind. 

"During  the  trial  in  Dayton,  Ohio,  the  cross-ex- 
aminer did  the  same  thing  with  the  same  lecture,  and 
asked  the  bishop  what  he  thought  of  it.  To  whicH 
the  bishop  responded,  'I  must  say  that  I  rather  admire 
the  rhetoric,  but  don't  think  anything  of  the  senti- 
ment.' This  again  gave  opportunity  to  explain  his 
change  of  attitude  in  some  respects  on  the  mooted 
question.  Whenever  the  lawyers  undertook  to  lead 
the  bishop  out  into  technical  fields  or  into  the  realms 
of  theological  literature,  he  frankly  told  them  he 
made  no  pretentions  to  technical  learning,  which 
ended  the  prosecution.  His  frankness,  candor,  and 
simplicity  and  unpretentiousness  always  won  for  him 
the  confidence  and  profoundest  respect  of  attorneys 
and  judges.  His  testimony,  both  on  points  of  his- 
tory and  of  doctrine,  was,  perhaps,  on  the  whole,  the 
best  and  most  telling  that  was  offered  by  the  Liberal 
side." 

A  gentleman  who  was  interested  in  the  case  at 
Ohambersburg,  Pennsylvania,  says  that,  in  preparing 
their  case,  they  were  advised  by  all  means  to  have 
Bishop  Weaver  secured  as  a  witness,  and  they  did  so, 
and  he  was  present.     His  very  presence  seemed  to 


328  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

give  inspiration  and  dignity  to  the  occasion.  When 
a  direct  question  was  asked,  the  bishop  would  give  a 
very  clear  and  direct  answer.  In  the  cross-question- 
ing, which  was  very  persistent  and  technical,  when 
Mr.  Bowers,  the  lawyer  for  the  Radicals,  would  ask 
the  bishop  the  reason  for  such  actions,  the  bishop 
would  start  out,  and,  until  he  would  get  around  ta 
the  reason  desired,  he  had  made  a  most  powerful 
argument,  greatly  to  the  annoyance  of  Mr.  Bowers, 
who  finally  said,  "Bishop,  you  were  not  called  here 
to  argue  the  case,  but  to  testify."  The  bishop  inno- 
cently answered,  "Certainly;  I  was  seeking  to  give 
the  reason."  At  the  noon  meal,  a  gentleman  said  to 
him,  "Bishop,  Mr.  Bowers  doesn't  like  you  to  argue 
this  case."  He  replied,  "I  know  just  as  well  as  Mr. 
Bowers  when  I  am  arguing  the  case ;  but  our  attorney 
at  Dayton  said  I  should  shove  it  in  whenever  I  could, 
and  I  did." 

Mr.  Bowers  wanted  to  get  an  acknowledgment  from 
the  bishop  that  "creeds  were  made  to  counteract  her- 
esy," citing  the  Apostles'  Creed  as  counteracting  the 
heresy  of  the  Epicureans.  He  replied,  "If  Mr.  Bow- 
ers can  tell  positively  when  and  where  and  by  whom 
the  Apostles'  Creed  was  made,  he  might  so  apply  it ; 
but  as  it  is  not  known  by  our  best  writers  when  and 
where  or  by  whom  made,  I  do  not  see  how  he  can  so 
apply  it." 

Mr.  Bowers  called  up  the  pamphlet  published  by 
Bishop  Weaver,  in  1862,  against  secret  societies,  and, 
reading  therefrom,  asked  if  these  were  his  utterances. 
"It  sounds  much  like  me,'*  replied  the  bishop.    "Well, 


Before  the  Courts  329 

what  do  you  think  of  it  in  the  light  of  present  con- 
ditions ?"  said  the  attorney.  With  the  broadest  sort 
of  a  smile  on  his  face,  he  said,  "Well,  Mr.  Bowers,  I 
admire  the  rhetoric,  but  I  don't  think  as  much  as  I 
did  of  the  prophecy,"  which  answer  produced  not 
a  little  merriment. 

When  he  was  to  leave,  the  court  adjourned  for  a 
few  minutes  to  give  all  an  opportunity  to  speak  to 
him.  The  bishop  shook  hands  with  all  pleasantly,  and 
especially  thanked  Mr.  Bowers  for  being  so  lenient 
and  courteous  to  him.  Friends  say  he  was  not  in  the 
the  least  exasperated,  but  kind  and  patient.  His 
dignified  bearing  contributed  not  a  little  to  their 
success. 

Dr.  William  McKee  heard  Bishop  Weaver  testify 
in  the  case  concerning  the  United  Brethren  Publish- 
ing House  before  the  judges  of  the  Circuit  Court, 
Judge  Shearer  presiding,  with  the  others  assisting. 
The  Radical  brethren  thought  their  attorneys  had 
handled  their  case  well.  Bishop  Weaver's  testimony 
was,  by  all  means,  the  most  valuable  given,  and  the 
judges  relied  very  much  on  what  he  said.  The  cross- 
questioning  not  only  failed  to  shake  his  testimony, 
but  brought  out  many  more  important  facts  than  had 
been  given  at  first.  There  was  a  firmness  and  candor 
manifested,  both  in  his  testimony  and  manner,  that 
tended  to  win  all  hearts.  He  was  as  open  as  day,  and 
there  was  no  effort  at  concealment.  If  there  had  been 
any  blunders  in  the  arranging  for  the  commission  at 
Fostoria,  or  in  the  manner  of  election  which  the  com- 
mission had  ordered  to  be  taken,  he  would  freely  con- 


330  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

cede  all  these.  The  men  who  did  this  work  were  hon- 
est, but  not  infallible.  In  1861,  at  the  Geoieral  Con- 
ference held  in  Westerville,  he  had  made  an  earnest 
and  able  address  against  secret  societies,  which  was 
afterwards  published  for  general  distribution.  The 
attorneys  on  the  opposite  side  had  secured  a  printed 
copy  of  this  most  able  address  on  this  much  talked  of 
question.  This  was  written  four  years  before  he  be- 
came a  bishop.  This  pamphlet  was  intended  to  play 
quite  an  important  part  in  the  trial.  The  attorneys 
had  evidently  prepared  themselves  for  something  of 
a  sensation.  After  reading  a  couple  of  stringent 
paragraphs  against  the  secrecy  question,  the  attorney 
stopped  short,  and,  with  an  imposing  air,  asked, 
"Bishop,  did  you  make  this  statement  as  set  forth 
in  this  pamphlet?"  "I  think  I  did,"  answered  the 
bishop,  very  courteously.  "What  do  you  think  of  it 
now?"  asked  the  attorney.  The  bishop  again  an- 
swered, "I  was  a  young  man  then ;  my  views  were  not 
so  well  matured  then  as  now,  but  from  my  standpoint 
at  that  time,  I  thought  it  was  a  right  good  speech." 
This  good-humored  and  appropriate  reply  brought  a 
broad  smile  to  the  faces  of  both  judges  and  bar.  The 
lawyer  followed  in  due  time  with  another  question, 
"Do  you  still  hold  these  views,  or  have  you  changed 
your  opinions  ?"  The  bishop  again  frankly  answered, 
"I  have  no  sympathy  with  secret  societies,  and  have 
nothing  to  do  with  them.  I  have  changed  my  views 
as  to  how  the  Church  should  deal  with  these  ques- 
tions," and  this  was  the  ending  of  the  attempt  to  show 
the  inconsistency  of  the  bishop,  which  they  evidently 


Before  the  Courts  331 

thought  would  play  an  important  part  in  their  case. 
As  men  have  done  in  other  questions,  he  had,  as  an 
administrative  oflficer,  widened  his  views,  and  sought 
to  adapt  them  to  the  necessities  of  the  times. 

Dr.  McKee  was  also  present  in  the  case  of  the 
Salem  Church,  tried  in  Allegan,  Michigan.  Bishop 
Weaver  was  a  witness  here  also,  as  he  was  in  most  of 
the  important  cases.  He  was  called  to  the  stand  on 
Tuesday  morning,  being  very  weary  and  quite  hoarse. 
He  asked  the  consent  of  the  court  to  go  to  Grand 
Rapids  and  rest  until  Thursday,  when  he  hoped  to 
be  in  good  condition  for  the  work.  His  request  was 
granted,  and  he  tried  to  recruit  his  wasted  strength. 
He  reappeared  on  Thursday  morning,  still  looking 
worn  and  weak,  and  his  voice  a  little  husky.  He  took 
his  place  on  the  stand  at  9 :  45  in  the  morning.  He 
was  to  testify  on  the  question  of  the  agreement  of 
the  revised  with  the  old  confession  of  faith.  The 
attorney  handed  him  a  published  copy  of  the  old  and 
new  confession  of  faith  in  parallel  columns,  and 
bade  him  proceed  in  his  own  way  to  show  the  agree- 
ment or  disagreement  of  the  two  documents.  The 
bishop  proceeded  slowly  and  deliberately  to  show  how 
the  revised  confession,  in  its  classified  form,  as  to 
the  various  subjects,  evolved  from  the  old.  He  had 
been  a  member  of  the  commission  to  which  was  re- 
ferred the  duty  of  making  this  revision ;  with  others 
he  had  gone  over  every  word  and  every  clause,  care- 
fully scrutinizing  the  meaning  of  every  part,  and 
therefore  knew  what  they  both  were.  He  talked  and 
explained  about  half  an  hour,  when  it  seemed  to  the 


332  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

hearers  he  could  not  for  very  weakness  continue.  As 
time  passed,  and  he  became  more  interested,  he 
seemed  to  grow  stronger,  and  proceeded  with  little  or 
no  interruption  until  five  o'clock,  having  talked  and 
explained  for  over  six  long  hours.  Lawyers  and 
judges,  with  a  large  audience  of  church-members 
from  both  wings  of  the  Church,  watched  and  listened 
as  the  explanations  came  from  his  lips,  with  even 
more  interest  than  people  were  wont  to  listen  to  him 
when  he  preached,  and  that  is  saying  a  good  deal. 
Finally  he  reached  the  end  of  the  task  assigned  him, 
and  his  testimony  in  chief  was  concluded.  The  law- 
yers on  the  Radical  side  asked  him  two  questions,  to 
which  he  replied  with  the  greatest  deference.  Pleas- 
antly, and  we  might  say  in  a  brotherly  way,  they 
reciprocated  the  conduct  of  the  witness,  and  when  the 
answers  had  been  given,  said,  "Thank  you,  bishop, 
that  is  sufficient." 

It  is  safe  to  say  the  trial  could  just  as  well  have 
ended  then  and  there,  for  evidently  the  mind  of  the 
judge  was  made  up,  and  the  further  testimony  and 
appeals  of  the  lawyers  did  not  change  nor  modify 
his  judgment.  A  witness  for  the  Liberal  side,  who 
had  heard  all  of  the  bishop's  explanations  during  the 
day,  said  to  him  that  evening  after  the  close  of  the 
work  for  the  day,  "Bishop,  it  is  your  duty,  as  I  trust 
yon  will  make  it  your  pleasure,  to  write  a  book  on 
creeds,  their  history  and  growth,  for  the  members  of 
this  United  Brethren  Church,  and  especially  for  the 
young  men  who  are  to  become  its  ministers."  His 
book  on  the  confession  of  faith  contains,  in  fuller 


Before  the  Courts  333 

form,  and  at  greater  length,  the  testimony  given  this 
day  in  court. 

A  writer  who  was  present  during  the  trial  says  he 
never  saw  a  court  room  so  silent  as  was  this;  never 
such  order  and  decorum;  never  such  deference  paid 
to  a  witness  as  was  done  here.  His  tall,  slender 
form,  his  kind  face,  and  his  courteous  and  gentle- 
manly manner,  drew  all  to  him,  and  all  wanted  to 
hear  what  he  said. 

Two  years  after  the  Allegan  trial,  there  was  an- 
other one  at  Grand  Kapids.  This  was  in  the  winter 
season,  and  another  judge  was  presiding.  Bishop 
Weaver's  testimony  was  not  so  elaborate  as  in  the 
Salem  case,  but  equally  attractive  and  important  to 
both  court  and  lawyers.  When  the  bishop  was  not 
on  the  stand,  the  judge  went  into  his  office  and 
brought  out  a  large  easy  chair,  and  then,  taking  the 
bishop  by  the  arm,  led  him  to  the  chair  and  seated 
him  therein,  saying,  "You  will  rest  more  easily  in 
this."  At  other  times  he  said  to  him,  "Here  is  my 
private  room,  carpeted  and  furnished ;  whenever  you 
wish  to  rest,  please  use  my  room,  and  come  and  go 
as  you  will,  and  make  yourself  entirely  at  home." 
All  were  well  pleased,  even  the  officials  on  the  oppo- 
site side  of  the  case,  with  the  courtesy  shown  the 
bishop  by  the  judge,  and  all  were  glad  that  in  this 
way  he  could  be  made  a  little  more  comfortable. 
When  on  the  stand  he  manifested  the  same  attitude, 
without  affectation,  and  without  any  effort  to  appear 
solemn,  nor  was  there  any  effort  at  wit  or  irony  or 
sarcasm.      On   the   contrary,    his    statements   were 


334  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

straightforward,  plain,  and  easily  understood.  When 
cross-questioned  by  those  on  the  opposite  side,  he 
never  appeared  disturbed  or  offended,  and  however 
artfully  the  questions  were  prepared,  with  a  view  to 
entangle  him  in  his  answer,  he  never  resorted  to  any 
kind  of  subterfuge  by  way  of  answers.  Several  times 
when  he  was  asked  to  say  "Yes"  or  "No"  to  certain 
questions,  which  all  saw  would  not  be  fair  either  to 
witness  or  cause,  and  would  not  answer  the  entire 
question,  he  would  kindly  say,  "Gentlemen,  pardon 
me,  I  cannot  answer  your  question  in  just  that  way ; 
I  must  say  more  in  order  to  give  you  my  meaning." 
This  remark  would  pave  the  way  for  a  fair  answer 
to  the  question,  which  showed  it  was  about  the  best 
they  could  get  from  him. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

Chosen  Bishop  Emeritus — 1893. 

The  vote  had  been  taken,  but  the  battle  had  not 
yet  been  won.  In  the  Telescope  for  January  23, 
1889,  Bishop  Weaver  appeared  in  an  article  on 
"Changing  Church  Polity,"  in  which  he  argued  for 
its  great  need.  "What  could  we  do  in  the  world  to- 
day with  the  same  order  we  had  fifty  years  ago?" 
On  March  13,  he  answered  Rev.  H.  Floyd  in  an  ar- 
ticle, entitled  "What  Vote  Is  Required,"  showing  that 
those  who  willfully  absent  themselves  from  an  elec- 
tion are  presumed  to  consent  to  the  will  of  the  ma- 
jority at  voting.  A  little  later,  he'delivered  a  lecture 
before  the  faculty  and  students  of  Union  Biblical 
Seminary  on  "Ministerial  Comity."  On  April  3,  in 
a  contribution,  entitled  "A  Division  in  the  Church," 
he  stated  the  reasons  alleged  by  the  Radical  brethren 
for  justifying  such  division,  and  showed  how  imten- 
able  they  were.  March  31,  he  was  at  Columbus 
Grove.  April  8,  he  preached  at  Cedar  Rapids, 
held  the  Iowa  Conference,  which  met  at  Bristow, 
Iowa,  on  April  10,  and,  later,  the  mission  conferences 
in  Colorado. 

On  the  train  to  Colorado,  he  writes  an  article,  "On- 
ward and  Upward,"  full  of  cheery  thoughts,  in  which 
he  shows  that  Christianity  never  did  as  much  aa  it  is 


336  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

doing  now,  that  the  Christians  are  coming  together 
and  working  more  harmoniously,  and  advises  to  "stop 
your  everlasting  whining  and  grmnbling.  God 
reigns,  let  the  people  rejoice.  What  if  some  things  do 
not  go  to  suit  you,  was  there  ever  a  time  when  every- 
thing suited  everybody  ?  Woe  be  to  the  man  who  is 
hanging  on  the  brakes  of  the  car  of  progress.  Take 
hold  and  help,  or  clear  the  track." 

The  twentieth  General  Conference  convened  in 
York,  Pennsylvania,  May  9,  and  continued  to  the 
22d.  It  consisted  of  one  hundred  and  thirty-one 
members.  The  bishops'  address  was  read  by  Bishop 
Weaver,  and  was  most  likely  prepared  by  him.  The 
Church  commission  made  its  report,  and  it  was  re- 
ferred to  a  committee  of  seven,  who  later  recom- 
mended its  approval,  and  it  was  adopted  after  a  long 
discussion,  one  hundred  and  ten  voting  in  favor,  and 
twenty  against.  Bishop  Weaver  made  a  brief  and 
conciliatory  address  before  the  vote  was  taken.  Later, 
fifteen  of  those  voting  no  withdrew  from  the  Con- 
ference and  organized  independently  in  Park  Opera 
House.  It  became  evident  that  the  combat  was  not 
yet  over.  Bishop  Weaver  was  again  elected  bishop 
by  a  vote  of  one  hundred  and  eighteen. 

As  stated  elsewhere,  before  the  final  report  was 
made  at  York,  concerning  the  results  of  the  vote. 
Bishop  Weaver  did  a  great  amount  of  corresponding 
with  influential  men  in  the  Church,  Bishop  Dickson 
had  been  radical  in  his  views,  yet  judicious  and  care- 
ful in  his  practice,  and  Bishop  Weaver  was  very 
anxious  to  receive  his  cooperation.     He  wrote  him. 


Chosen  Bishop  Emeritus  337 

urging  him  to  carefully  consider  the  question,  and 
make  such  criticisms  as  he  thought  best,  but  finally  to 
support  the  commission.  Bishop  Dickson  did  so  an- 
nounce himself  some  months  before  the  vote  was 
taken.  Bishop  Weaver  saw  the  work  was  really  just 
'Commenced,  and  that  Bishop  Dickson  should  be  con- 
tinued as  bishop,  so  as  to  help  reach  an  element  he 
-could  not  reach.  He  said  to  the  writer :  "I  did  what 
I  never  did  before.  I  electioneered  for  the  election  of 
a  bishop.  I  counseled  with  a  number  of  delegates, 
and  Bishop  Dickson  was  reelected,  although  somewhat 
on  in  years ;  and  he  did  some  of  his  best  work  during 
the  four  following  years." 

Bishop  Weaver's  work  for  the  third  year  was  to  be 
in  the  East  District.  In  an  article  written  soon  after 
the  conference,  entitled  "Facts — Counsel,"  he  sought 
to  show  the  facts  concerning  the  commission,  and  ad- 
vised all  to*'  make  haste  slowly  in  coming  to  a  de- 
cision ;  look  on  both  sides,  so  that  you  may  have  noth- 
ing to  regret  when  you  have  decided."  In  "A  Pure 
Church,"  he  teaches  "the  most  successful  way  to  sep- 
arate men  and  women  from  evil  and  evil  associations 
is  to  show  something  better  in  Christ"  In  an  article 
on  "Church  Questions,"  he  tells  us  every  denomina- 
tion has  more  or  less  internal  trouble.  It  was  so  with 
the  apostles.  In  "Fundamental  Questions,"  he  asks, 
"Has  the  United  Brethren  Church  gone  away  from 
any  fundamental  principle  ?"  and  proceeds  to  show  it 
has  not 

On  July  26,  he  started  East.  He  dedicated  a 
church  at  Mechanicsburg,  Pennsylvania,  July  28,  and 


338  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

spent  a  few  dajs  at  Chambersburg ;  later,  was  at 
Emig's  Grove  camp-meeting;  visited  Hagerstown, 
Maryland,  and  later  Dillsburg  camp,  eighteen  miles 
from  Harrisburg.  Next,  he  went  to  Zion  camp,  and 
from  here  to  Stoverdale.  He  finds  everything  pleas- 
ant, except  "the  beds  are  a  little  mite  too  short,  say; 
from  one  to  two  feet." 

He  thinks  a  very  large  majority  of  the  people  will 
stand  by  the  Church.  In  an  article,  "Why  Go  Away 
from  the  Church  ?"  he  shows  the  seceders'  cannot  take 
any  of  the  Church  property  with  them,  and  not  a 
single  fundamental  doctrine  has  been  lost.  Do  they 
expect  to  found  a  church  in  which  anybody  thinks  ? 

The  year  closed  with  an  article,  "An  Hour  with 
Rev.  A.  Biddle."  He  was  a  member  of  the  General 
Conference  of  1841,  and  Bishop  Weaver  inquired 
of  him  as  to  how  the  constitution  was  adopted,  and 
then  gave  a  report  of  the  same. 

He  reported  for  the  East  District  for  the  year  clos- 
ing: Appointments,  1,309;  organized  churches, 
1,173 ;  membership,  64,753 ;  increase  during  the  year, 
2,913.  "The  loss  by  the  secession  movement  is  small ; 
less  than  twenty  efficient  ministers  have  gone,  and 
not  to  exceed  one  thousand  members  in  this  district, 
consisting  of  Tennessee,  Erie,  East  Ohio,  Parkers- 
burg,  Allegheny,  East  Pennsylvania,  East  German, 
Pennsylvania,  Virginia,  and  Maryland  conferences. 
Our  ministers  and  members  are  more  churchly  than 
ever  before,  and  they  know  more  about  creeds  and 
constitutions  than  they  ever  would  have  known  had 
it  not  been  for  this  schism.     Scarcely  a  jar  or  ruffle 


Chosen  Bishop  Mneritus  339 

was  seen  or  felt  anywhere.  All  seemed  to  be  of  one 
heart  and  one  mind."  Later  came  articles  on  "The 
Christian  Sabbath,"  "Church  Property,"  and  one  on 
"Modifying — Changing  Views,"  a  reply  to  one  in 
the  Conservator,  "An  Open  Letter  to  Our  Ministers," 
"The  Old  Creed,"  and  "Sanctification." 

Miami  Conference  was  held  at  Cherry  Grove, 
Ohio,  August,  1890;  Auglaize,  at  Dunkirk,  August 
27;  North  Ohio,  at  Hicksville,  September  10;  San- 
dusky, at  Findlay,  September  17;  Ohio  German,  at 
Zanesville,  September  25 ;  Central  Ohio,  at  Wester- 
ville,  October  1 ;  Scioto,  at  Taylorsville,  October  8 ; 
Kentucky  Conference  was  held  by  L.  Bookwalter,  and 
Canada  Conference  by  Dr.  William  McKee.  The 
bishop  noted  that  this  was  the  first  time  in  twenty-six 
years  that  he  had  been  detained  from  his  conferences 
because  of  ill  health. 

He  closed  a  busy  year  with  this  statement :  "Some 
years  ago,  I  wrote  a  few  articles  under  the  caption 
of  'The  Outlook.'  What  is  the  outlook  to-day? 
Never  better,  never  brighter.  We  are  dedicating 
three  new  churches  every  week ;  every  department  of 
church  work  is  not  only  growing,  but  flourishing. 
Nothing  to  discourage  or  dishearten,  but  many  things 
to  inspire  hope  and  confidence." 

The  first  days  of  1891  found  him  with  engage- 
ments every  Sabbath  until  March,  yet  he  still  found 
time,  and  had  the  disposition  to  use  his  pen.  The 
first  article  to  appear  was  "Our  Educational  Work," 
in  which  he  shows  we  need  students  and  money; 
"What  of  the  Night?"  showing  it  is  day;  "The  Gen- 


340  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

eral  Conferences  of  1885  and  of  1889" ;  "The  Resur- 
rection of  the  Dead"  ;"What  Is  Essential  to  the  Cause 
of  Missions  ?"  which  he  answers  in  one  word — coiisc- 
cration;  "The  General  Conference  of  1833,"  in  which 
he  shows  there  is  hardly  a  rule  in  our  Discipline  to- 
day which  was  there  then.  The  last  of  May  was  spent 
with  the  brethren  in  Ontario.  He  was  there  pre- 
sented with  a  gold-headed  cane.  Later,  came  an  ar- 
ticle on  "Our  Present  Status,"  showing  that,  in  spite 
of  the  agitation  through  which  the  Church  had 
passed,  "numerically  and  financially  we  are  stronger 
to-day  than  we  ever  were  before."  He  writes  from 
Fort  Scott,  October  27 :  "One  more  conference,  and 
I  am  through  for  this  fall.  The  conferences  have  all 
been  very  good.  I  have  not  been  well  for  several 
weeks."  Most  of  December  he  was  confined  to  the 
house  by  sickness,  but  still  able  to  prepare  an  article, 
"A  Few  Suggestions,"  in  which  he  advises  honest  and 
sincere  men  and  women,  who  were  deceived  and  led 
away,  as  to  what  they  ought  to  do. 

He  begins  the  year  1892  with  an  article  on  "How 
to  Preach,"  in  which  he  says :  "To-day,  February  23, 
I  am  sixty-eight  years  old.  Forty-seven  years  ago,  I 
entered  the  ministry.  In  heart  and  spirit  and  in  love 
for  the  ministry  and  the  Church  I  feel  as  young  as 
the  day  I  mounted  my  horse  and  started  for  my  first 
mission,  a  hundred  miles  away.  All  these  years  I 
have  been  learning  how  to  preach,  but,  alas !  what  a 
poor  attempt  I  have  made  of  it  A  few  things  I  have 
learned:  (1)  The  nearer  I  am  to  Christ,  the  nearer 
I  can  get  to  the  people;  (2)  as  a  rule,  the  people  de- 


Chosen  Bishop  Eiaeritus  341 

sire  the  plain,  simple  truths  of  the  gospel;  (3)  souls 
are  won  by  preaching  Christ.  Young  men,  preach 
Christ,  first,  last,  and  all  the  time.  The  seraphic 
Summerfield  said,  just  before  he  died:  'Oh,  if  I 
might  be  raised,  how  I  could  preach !  I  could  preach 
as  I  never  did  before.  I  have  taken  a  look  into  eter- 
nity. A  look  into  eternity  is  enough  to  stir  the  soul 
of  any  man.'  "  He  follows  this  with  an  earnest  ex- 
hortation to  show  heart-earnestness.  Do  not  read, 
preach  the  truth  plainly;  show  common  sense;  have 
manly  courage,  and  preach  for  souls. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  year,  his  health  was  poor 
for  several  weeks,  and  he  was  unable  to  get  even  as  far 
as  the  Publishing  Ho^Lisa  He  still  kept  his  pen  at 
work  when  able  to  do  anything.  "The  Church's 
Greatest  Need"  he  shows  to  be  a  baptism  of  power — 
power  to  draw  men  and  women  to  Christ.  "The  Co- 
lumbian Exposition  and  the  Sabbath"  is  a  protest 
against  its  opening  on  the  Sabbath,  in  which  every 
Christian  should  join.  "Our  Church  Trouble"  was 
no  unexpected  thing.  The  history  of  every  denomina- 
tion records  dissensions,  schisms,  and  divisions.  We 
are  now  reaching  the  beginning  of  the  end  of  our 
trouble.  "A  Dream — But  ISTot  All"  is  suggested  by  a 
visit  to  a  graveyard.  "Preaching  Jesus"  allows  him 
to  say  that  the  people  are  tired  of  abstractions ;  this 
is  the  only  hope  for  a  lost  world. 

A  short  time  previous  to  the  beginning  of  his  con- 
ferences, he  wrote  a  letter  to  the  members  of  the 
Northwest  District :  "I  have  been  afflicted  for  a  num- 
ber of  weeks,  have  not,  indeed,  been  able  for  duty  for 


342  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

a  number  of  months.  Had  hoped  to  be  able  to  attend 
mj  conferences,  but  it  is  uncertain.  No  one  feels  this 
disappointment  so  keenly  as  I  do.  The  Lord  knows 
what  is  best,  and  will  do  it.  I  ask  your  prayers  that 
I  may  be  sustained  by  grace  divine." 

He  describes  a  new  kind  of  ''hard  work"  which  he 
is  experiencing:  "After  having  spent  forty-seven 
years  in  the  active  work,  to  be  compelled  to  stop  and 
go  into  comparative  retirement  in  the  invalid's  cham- 
ber, and  be  sick,  real  sick,  sick  all  over,  not  for  a  day, 
but  for  many  days,  is  very  hard  work.  I  look  out 
over  the  field,  through  the  Telescope,  and  it  thrills  me 
through  and  through.  Church-houses  are  being  dedi- 
cated, souls  are  coming  into  the  kingdom,  and  the 
ministers  are  at  work,  both  at  home  and  abroad. 
Bless  me !  how  I  would  like  to  be  out  and  in  it.  My 
very  bones  (and  that  is  about  all  there  seems  to  be 
left  of  me)  seem  to  be  on  fire.  I  cannot  help  it,  and, 
what  is  more,  I  do  not  want  to  help  it.  The  doctor 
said  I  must  not  study,  but  I  told  him  I  must  think. 
My  'think'  goes  on  whether  I  will  it  or  not.  The  idea 
of  living  and  not  thinking !  If  I  can  do  nothing  else 
while  the  blessed  work  goes  on,  I  can  clap  my  hands 
and  say,  'Amen,'  and,  once  in  a  while,  'Hallelujah.'  " 

The  conferences  assigned  him  were :  North  Michi- 
gan, Fremont,  Michigan,  August  25 ;  Michigan,  Sun- 
field,  Michigan,  September  1;  St.  Joseph,  North 
Manchester,  Indiana,  September  7;  Upper  Wabash, 
Annapolis,  Indiana,  September  14 ;  Rock  River,  Polo, 
Hlinois,  September  22;  Wisconsin,  Hopeville 
Church.  September  29;  Minnesota,  Alma  City,  Oc- 


Chosen  Bishop  Mneritus  343 

tober  6 ;  Des  Moines,  Van  Meter,  Iowa,  October  12 ; 
Elkhorn  and  Dakota,  Blair,  Nebraska,  October  20; 
West  Nebraska,  Broken  Bow,  October  27.  He  was 
present  at  the  most  of  these,  and  the  remainder  were 
held  bj  other  ministers.  He  returned  from  these  con- 
ferences improved  in  health.  The  trip  and  change 
of  climate  and  surroundings  did  him  good.  He  re- 
turned to  Dayton  for  rest  and  quiet. 

Another  General  Conference  will  convene  in  1893 ; 
the  first  one  when  lay  delegates  will  participate  in  the 
business;  for  a  long  time  he  has  desired  to  see  lay- 
men admitted  to  our  legislative  body.  There  appears 
from  his  pen  an  article,  entitled  ''Words  of  Cheer." 
There  is  harmony  and  prosperity  throughout  all  our 
herders,  and  it  is  a  good  time  to  rejoice  and  be  glad. 
Other  articles  follow :  "That  Better  Country"' ;  "Re- 
generation—What Is  It  ?"  "Jay  Gould" ;  "Keep  in 
de  Middle  ob  de  Road,"  a  caution  against  such  ex- 
tremes as  doubting  the  reliability  of  Scripture,  sub- 
stituting culture  for  experimental  religion,  turning 
everything  into  a  social  channel,  and  such  other  ten- 
dencies of  the  times. 

The  twenty-first  General  Conference  met  in  Day- 
ton, Ohio,  May  11,  and  Bishop  Weaver,  as  senior 
bishop,  was  in  the  chair.  During  this  Conference, 
he  was  elected  bishop  emeritus.  In  response  to  this 
action  on  the  part  of  the  Conference,  he  made  a  brief 
address,  from  which  we  extract  the  following :  "Fifty 
years  ago,  about  this  time,  I  received  my  first  quar- 
terly conference  license.  Forty-seven  years  ago,  I 
united  with  the  Muskingum  Conference,  and  have  not 


344  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

been  in  a  local  relation  for  forty-seven  years.  During: 
all  these  years,  I  have  worked  as  hard  as  I  could,  but 
not  as  well  as  I  might  have  done.  During  all  theso 
years  the  Church  has  treated  me  very  tenderly,  and 
I  only  regret  that  I  have  not  been  able  to  do  better 
work  for  her.  They  tell  me  that  I  am  getting  old^ 
and  I  am  reminded  of  a  little  anecdote.  A  colored 
boy  was  asked  how  old  he  was,  and  he  replied,  'If  you 
judge  by  the  fun  I  have  had,  I  reckon  I  am  pretty 
old.'  So,  if  you  judge  by  the  pleasure  I  have  had  in 
working  for  the  Church,  I  reckon  I  am  pretty  old ;  but 
I  intend  to  die  young.  What  you  did  this  morning, 
beloved  brethren,  nearly  upset  me.  I  call  it  a  dis- 
tinguished honor.  It  does  not  make  me  feel  proud,, 
but  it  humbles  me.  I  may  not  live  through  this  quad- 
rennium  in  the  church  militant,  but  I  shall  live  a  long 
time  in  the  home  above." 

Eyes  were  suffused  with  tears  while  the  venerable 
bishop  was  speaking,  and  when  he  had  finished,  ho 
was  loudly  applauded. 

Dr.  E.  E.  Baker,  of  the  Lutheran  Church,  had  been 
appointed  as  fraternal  delegate  to  this  conference,, 
and,  in  his  address,  he  made  some  allusions  to  our 
Church  troubles,  and  the  fact  that  the  Lutherans  were 
having  some  difficulty ;  also,  to  the  fact  that  we  had 
admitted  lay  delegates,  and  authorized  the  licensing 
of  women.  Bishop  Weaver  was  asked  to  reply,  whick 
he  did,  very  shrewdly  and  appropriately.  We  have 
space  for  a  brief  paragraph  or  two:  "In  reference 
to  the  fracas  through  which  we  are  passing,  I  am 
pleased  that  our  brother  greets  us  at  a  time  when  we 


Chosen  Bishop  Emeritus  345 

think  we  are  well  across  the  Rubicon;  and  when  we 
get  safely  over,  if  they  are  still  in  the  water,  we  will 
reach  out  the  hand  to  help  them  across,  for  we  shall 
then  know  how  to  cross  it. 

"He  makes  mention  of  our  recognition  of  women  as 
members  of  this  body,  and  our  having  settled  it  so 
easily  and  quietly.  I  wish  hun  to  bear  back  to  his 
brethren  the  thought  that  we  have  left  the  door  open 
behind  us,  whenever  they  see  proper  to  come  that 
way ;  and  he  does  not  yet  fully  know  the  blessing  that 
it  would  be  to  him  and  to  his  people,  if  they  would 
walk  through  the  open  door.  When  the  church  you 
represent  to-day  shall  have  admitted  women  into  the 
general  councils  of  the  church,  and  granted  them 
license  to  preach,  you  will  find  it  a  means  of  grace, 
also. 

"I  can  well  remember,  in  my  boyhood  days,  when 
the  ecclesiastical  walls  were  so  high  that  we  could  not 
see  over  them.  We  could  finally  hear  each  other  peck- 
ing away  on  opposite  sides  of  the  wall.  Somebody, 
somehow,  sometime,  has  taken  down  those  walls  and 
left  nothing  but  the  marks  where  they  stood,  and 
across  these  marks  we  reach  out  the  hand,  and  look 
each  other  in  the  eye,  and  say,  'God  bless  you !'  anvi 
'God  speed  you !'  Is  not  this  the  dawn  of  the  millen- 
nium ?" 

The  conferences  assigned  him  were  Auglaize,  Ohio 
German,  and  Ontario,  which  he  held,  being  in  better 
health. 

Before  the  close  of  the  Conference,  he  went  to 
Michigan,  to  visit  some  of  his  children,  and  to  enjoy 


346  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

a  little  rest.  Soon  there  appeared  from  his  pen  an 
article,  entitled  "Now  What  ?"  which  taught  that,  the 
Conference  being  over,  we  now  need  for  our  success 
men  and  women  consecrated  to  God  and  the  service  of 
the  Church.  Later,  he  was  present  at  the  World's 
Congress  of  Religions,  in  Chicago,  and  presided  over 
the  gathering  of  the  United  Brethren  at  their  special 
meeting.  His  article,  entitled  "Change — Why?" 
teaches  that  there  are  times  when  a  minister  may 
change  his  denominational  relations,  but  the  reasons 
should.be  such  as  will  justify  such  action. 

In  the  later  fall,  he  left  Dayton  for  a  trip  East. 
He  was  present  at  the  reopening  of  the  Third  Church 
at  York,  Pennsylvania.  .  He  visited  Hummelstown 
and  Annville,  and  dedicated  a  church  at  Avon,  and 
was  with  the  bishops  in  a  semiannual  meeting  at 
Johnstown,  November  25.  An  article  in  the  Tele- 
scope on  "What  to  Preach"  advises  all  to  preach 
Christ,  as  he  is  the  substance  of  all  doctrine  and  the 
sum  of  all  enjoyment.  He  closes  the  year  with  an 
article  on  "Scolding,"  which,  he  asserts,  does  not  be- 
long to  the  fine  arts,  nor  is  it  an  evidence  of  fine 
culture. 


CHAPTER  XX. 
How  He  Used  His  Pen. 

Bishop  Weavee  was  fond  of  writing,  and  gave 
himself  to  it  as  his  time  and  circumstances  would 
allow.  He  soon  found  this  was  the  best  way  to  de- 
velop mental  strength.  He  always  advised  young 
ministers  to  write  their  sermons  for  the  mental  drill 
it  would  give  them  in  clearness  of  thought  and  accu- 
racy of  expression,  but  never  to  take  their  manuscript 
into  the  pulpit.  Before  the  infirmities  of  age  came 
upon  him,  he  wrote  in  a  clear,  plain  hand,  without 
any  ornamentation,  but  easily  read,  and  took  no  little 
pains  in  the  preparation  of  his  copy.  In  speaking  to 
a  friend  of  the  manuscript  for  one  of  his  books,  he 
said:  "I  wrote  it  carefully,  and  tried  to  execute  it 
neatly  so  that  it  might  be  like  the  case  of  the  colored 
man  who  asked  the  price  of  potatoes,  and  was  an- 
swered, 'Sixty  cents  a  bushel.'  He  then  replied,  'K 
the  internal  surface  is  like  the  external  surface,  I 
will  take  a  bushel.'  "  The  bishop  meant  that  not 
only  should  the  matter  be  good,  but  it  should  be  neatly 
and  carefully  expressed. 

He  early  recognized  the  value  of  the  church  press, 
and  began  to  use  it,  although  he  laid  no  claim  to  any 
special  literary  excellence.     He  was  as  good  as  the 


348  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

best  of  his  contemporaries,  and  better  than  the  ma- 
jority. The  people  needed  reading  matter,  and  it 
was  as  much  his  duty  to  help  supply  them  as  it  was 
the  duty  of  others.  The  Missionary  Visitor  was 
started  at  his  suggestion,  and  named  by  him.  It  was 
to  be  a  kind  of  Sunday-school  paper,  and  specially  to 
be  a  means  of  conveying  missionary  intelligence  to 
our  people.  He  frequently  wrote  for  this  in  an  early 
day,  and  also  for  the  Children's  Friend,  which  was 
more  distinctively  a  paper  for  Sunday-school  pupils. 
When  he  was  in  the  college  agency  work,  he  kept 
in  close  touch  with  the  people  through  his  communi- 
cations to  the  paper.  He  needed  to  explain  his  plans, 
recount  his  successes,  and  defend  the  action  of  the 
Board  of  Trustees.  At  times  he  would  relate  the 
misfortunes  he  met  and  the  cool  receptions  that  some- 
times awaited  him.  He  found  a  college  agent  was  not 
always  and  everywhere  a  desirable  guest.  Through 
all  of  these,  when  proper,  ran  a  little  vein  of  humor, 
which  interested  his  readers.  He  took  them  into  his 
confidence.  There  was  nothing  stilted  or  strained 
or  obscure  in  his  statements,  but  he  talked  to  his  read- 
ers very  much  as  he  would  talk  to  them  about  their 
firesides,  and  his  communications  were  welcomed  and 
read.  Perhaps  no  name  appears  more  frequently  in 
our  various  Church  periodicals  during  the  last  half- 
century  than  his,  and  no  man  has  been  more  effective 
in  building  up  our  Church  literature.  The  bent  of 
his  mind,  as  well  as  his  life-work,  and  what  seemed 
to  him  the  most  important  wants  of  the  Church,  have 
kept  his  pen  confined  mainly  to  one  line  of  thought, 


How  He  Used  His  Pen  349 

but  in  that  he  has  shown  himself  a  faithful  worker, 
one  that  needed  not  to  be  ashamed. 

Bishop  Weaver  was  a  frequent  writer  for  the 
Church  papers,  almost  from  the  time  he  began  his 
ministry.  In  1862,  he  published  a  pamphlet  of  some 
fifty  pages,  entitled  "A  Lecture  on  Secret  Societies," 
in  which  he  defended  the  Church  by  giving  reasons 
for  her  hostility  to  freemasonry  and  other  orders. 
His  first  book  is  a  12mo  volume  of  175  pages,  entitled 
"Discourses  on  the  Resurrection."  He  was  led  to 
this  because  of  his  interest  in  the  subject  He  had 
read  much  on  it  for  his  own  information,  and  con- 
cluded to  prepare  this  little  volume  for  the  instruc- 
tion of  others.  His  reason  alleged  for  the  same  is, 
that  "the  majority  of  Christians  have  not  time  to 
read  and  study  elaborate  works  on  the  subject."  He 
seeks,  therefore,  in  a  brief  and  plain  manner,  to  state 
the  arguments  usually  adduced  in  favor  of  the  doc- 
trine. His  purpose  is  not  to  provoke  discussion,  but 
to  strengthen  and  comfort  the  hearts  of  the  common 
people. 

In  the  first  discourse,  he  gives  a  brief  history  of 
the  doctrine,  showing  that  it  was  taught  and  believed 
by  portions  of  the  human  race  in  all  time  past.  He 
shows  that  Christ  died,  was  buried,  and  rose  from 
the  dead.  We  have  the  testimony  of  witnesses  who 
are  competent  and  credible,  and  whose  testimony  can- 
not be  disputed.  If  he  rose,  then  they  shall  rise ; 
some  resurrections  have  already  occurred,  and  others 
will  follow  in  due  time.  In  the  second  address,  he 
shows  that  the  Scriptures  emphatically  teach  this 


360  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

doctrine.  It  will  be  the  same  body,  but  changed  and 
glorified.  The  resurrection  is  yet  to  come.  All  will 
be  raised,  but  not  all  will  be  glorified.  The  doctrine 
is  a  comforting  one.  The  third  discourse  deals  with 
the  future  destiny  of  man.  Most  of  the  early  philos- 
ophers believed  not  only  in  a  future  state,  but  one  of 
rewards  and  punishments.  We  have  a  surer  word 
of  prophecy.  The  righteous  will  have  a  place  where 
they  shall  dwell;  it  will  be  a  place  of  absolute  purity; 
the  saints  shall  not  die ;  they  will  not  be  idle.  How 
much  better  all  of  this  than  the  views  of  the  pagan 
philosophers  and  poets.  He  shows  the  immoral  lives 
of  some  who  denied  Christianity  and  disbelieved  in, 
the  resurrection ;  of  their  punishment,  there  shall  be 
no  end. 

His  next  was  a  larger  volume,  published  in  1873, 
consisting  of  some  323  pages,  12mo,  and  entitled  "Di- 
vine Providenca"  At  one  time,  he  was  holding  a  con- 
ference at  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania.  W.  J.  Shuey 
was  present,  and  preached  a  sermon  in  which  he 
referred  especially  to  this  doctrine.  Bishop  Weaver 
became  interested  in  the  matter,  and  began  studying 
the  subject  as  he  had  never  done  before.  In  thirteen 
chapters,  he  sets  forth,  with  a  cleverness  of  thought 
and  diction,  and  with  a  wealth  of  illustration,  the 
consolations  we  may  receive  from  the  acceptance  of 
the  truth  of  the  providence  of  God,  and  the  import- 
ance of  submitting  to  it.  There  is  a  God;  if  not, 
there  could  be  no  providence.  His  attributes  are  the 
perfection  of  his  nature,  and  these  always  work  in 
harmony.     The  notion  of  a  providence  has  been  a 


How  He  Used  His  Pen  351 

universal  tradition.  By  providence  he  means  a  mani- 
festation of  that  universal  superintendence  which 
God  exercises  over  all  his  creatures.  The  Scriptures 
teach  that  God  overrules  the  designs  and  purposes 
of  men ;  that  human  eifforts  are  vain  without  God ;  all 
temporal  su£Ferings  come  from  God ;  change  of  for- 
tune is  from  him.  Providence  is  both  particular  and 
general.  "God  in  managing  the  universe  must  see 
that  everywhere  post  and  pin  is  in  the  right  place." 
Providence  includes  not  only  stupendous  matters  and 
events,  but  also  that  which  seems  to  be  of  little  or  no 
importance.  "These  are  as  manifest  in  the  kingdom 
of  grace  as  they  are,  or  ever  have  been  in  the  king- 
dom of  nature.  All  things  great  and  small,  good  and 
evil,  are  under  the  control  of  the  Almighty,  and  can- 
not exist  without  his  permission.  The  operations  of 
divine  Providence  are  often  concealed  from  view. 
They  seem  confused  and  entangled  because  we  see 
nothing  clearly.  Blessings  often  come  in  disguise. 
God  leads  by  dark  and  intricate  ways.  There  are 
consolations  that  come  to  us  from  believing  "that 
God  is  everywhere  present  to  sustain  and  control  all 
laws  and  events  in  the  kingdom  of  nature  and  grace ; 
that  he  directs  the  steps  of  the  good  man  and  over- 
rules the  evil  designs  and  acts  of  wicked  men."  The 
goodness,  sufficiency,  longsuffering,  and  mercy  of  God 
are  all  sources  of  consolation. 

The  thirteenth  and  last  chapter  is  a  very  interest- 
ing one,  on  the  necessity  and  importance  of  sub- 
mitting to  the  providence  of  God,  with  encourage- 
ments thereto.     "Unthinking  people  would  have  a 


352  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

world  where  everything  grew  spontaneously.  They 
would  not  have  a  trial,  nor  a  sorrow,  nor  a  care,  nor 
a  pain,  nor  a  disappointment  They  would  be  fanned 
by  breezes  balmier  than  those  that  blew  over  Eden 
in  the  early  morning  of  time.  They  would  have 
everything  that  heart  could  wish.  They  would  have 
summer  but  no  winter,  roses  but  no  thorns,  joy  but 
no  sorrow,  life  but  no  death.  Now  faith  says,  if 
these  things  were  best  for  us,  our  Heavenly  Father 
would  straightway  give  them  to  us ;  but  seeing  they 
are  denied  us,  it  is  sufficient  evidence  that  we  shall 
be  better  off  in  the  end  without  them.  What  a  beauty 
there  is  in  entire  submission  to  the  will  of  God,  by 
means  of  which  we  cheerfully  surrender  all  things — 
life,  friends,  time,  and  eternity — into  his  hands." 

It  is  a  most  interesting,  able,  and  instructive  vol- 
ume. It  has  brought  comfort  and  courage  to  many 
a  disappointed  heart  as  it  has  trod  the  pathway  of 
life.  It  has  made  God  more  real  and  more  helpful 
to  those  who  put  their  trust  in  him.  It  has  shown 
him  that  a  Father's  hand  is  on  the  wheels  of  the  uni- 
verse, and  nothing  comes  to  pass  without  his  consent ; 
nothing  comes  to  his  children  which  shall  not  be  for 
their  good.  The  author  himself  tested  the  things  con- 
cerning which  he  wrote,  and  found  all  of  God's  prom- 
ises sure  and  certain. 

In  1873,  he  also  published  a  little  volume  of  sixty- 
one  pages  on  "Ministerial  Salary."  It  was  an  address 
prepared  for,  and  delivered  before  the  Ministerial 
Association  of  the  Virginia  Annual  Conference,  in  a 
session  held  at  Rohrersville,  Maryland,  February  12, 


How  He  Used  His  Pen  353 

1873,  and  published  at  their  request.  It  was  sug- 
gested to  him  by  the  fact  that  our  ministers  were  so 
poorly  paid.  On  his  first  field,  with  his  own  horse 
and  saddle,  he  traveled  a  circuit  of  seventeen  appoint- 
ments, making  two  hundred  miles  each  round,  and 
for  his  eight  months  of  service  received  eighty  dol- 
lars as  compensation.  The  next  year  he  was  mar- 
ried, and  received  for  his  whole  year  only  sixty  dol- 
lars. The  third  year,  he  did  better,  receiving  one 
hundred  and  seventy-five  dollars.  Many  of  the  peo- 
ple were  poor,  and  could  not  give  much;  others  who 
could,  had  not  been  trained  to  give,  and  did  not  feel 
the  obligations  resting  upon  them.  He  fared  as  well 
as  did  his  fellow-ministers.  The  earliest  preachers 
of  the  Church  traveled  without  pay,  as  they  owned 
farms,  from  the  income  of  which  they  could  derive 
a  support.  When  Bishop  Weaver  was  among  the 
Yankees,  as  they  were  called  in  the  Western  Reserve, 
as  much  was  collected  for  his  support  from  persons 
outside  of  the  Church,  and  having  no  church  connec- 
tion, as  from  the  members.  It  was  considered  that 
all  were  blessed  by  the  preaching  of  the  gospel,  and 
why  should  not  all  contribute  to  its  support?  We 
had  not  yet  reached  the  period  of  assessments.  No 
agreement  was  made  with  the  people  as  to  what  they 
should  pay,  but  they  were  expected  to  pay  as  well  as 
they  could,  and  this  was  pledged  in  the  form  of  a 
subscription. 

This  address  was  an  earnest  appeal  for  a  compe- 
tent support  for  a  faithful  ministry,  showing  that  this 
is  God's  plan,  and  when  his  people  do  not  meet  it, 


354  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

they  are  dishonoring  him,  doing  themselves  a  great 
injustice,  weakening  the  ministry,  if  not,  indeed, 
driving  many  out  of  it.  He  could  readily  speak  out 
of  the  fullness  of  his  observation,  if  not  from  his 
own  experience.  He  never  had  any  hesitation  in 
pressing  upon  the  Church  the  duty  of  supporting  the 
gospel.  He  urged  that  congregations  should  look  after 
their  pastors:  "There  are  among  ministers  at  least 
some  modest  men  who  could  hardly  be  induced  to 
ask  for  money,  no  matter  how  hard  they  be  pressed. 
It  takes  more  grace  to  ask  for  money  than  it  does  to 
preach.  All  this  trouble  and  mortification  might  be 
spared  the  minister  if  some  one  would  only  think  to 
ask  him  how  he  is  getting  along.  Indeed,  I  would  not 
care  if  the  General  Conference  would  make  the  esti- 
mating committee  a  committee  on  finance  for  the 
whole  year;  make  it  their  duty  to  visit  the  pastor 
once  or  twice  a  quarter  and  make  special  inquiry  into 
the  state  of  things ;  see  if  any  of  the  family  are  bare- 
footed ;  examine  the  beds  and  see  if  they  have  cover- 
ing enough ;  go  from  cellar  to  garret  and  see  if  any- 
thing is  wanting;  and  then  ask  the  minister  to  see 
his  pocketbook.  Some  such  regulation  committee,  in 
my  opinion,  would  be  a  grand,  if  not  a  glorious  insti- 
tution. Indeed,  I  would  not  object  to  having  such  a 
committee  visit  me  at  least  three  times  a  quarter; 
and  I  should  want  them  to  make  thorough  work  of 
it." 

In  18Y8,  another  volume  appeared  from  his  pen, 
entitled  "The  Doctrine  of  Universal  Restoration 
Carefully  Examined,"  a  12mo  volume  of  403  pages. 


How  He  Used  His  Pen  355 

"Do  the  scriptures  of  the  Old  and  iN'ew  Testaments 
teach  the  ultimate  holiness  and  salvation  of  all  men  ?" 
In  his  early  preaching  in  North  Ohio,  he  came  in 
contact  with  some  well-informed  men  who  had  ac- 
cepted the  teachings  of  universalism,  and  they  took 
some  pleasure  in  puzzling  this  young,  untrained 
preacher  with  difficult  questions.  He  found  it  neces- 
sary, if  he  would  preserve  his  own  self-respect,  and 
not  lose  his  influence  over  his  own  people,  to  inform 
himself  as  to  the  teachings  of  that  system  of  religion. 
He  secured  the  standard  teachings  of  their  best  ad- 
vocates, and  went  to  work  to  learn  tjieir  theories,  and 
then  how  to  meet  them  from  an  orthodox  stand- 
point. Later,  he  was  drawn  into  some  public  discus- 
sions with  these  advocates,  and  this  made  it  more  nec- 
essary that  he  should  know  exactly  what  was  claimed. 
All  this  prepared  the  way  for  the  thorough  analysis 
which  is  here  given.  Having  read  the  best  authori- 
ties, and  carefully  written  out  his  best  arguments,  he 
concluded  he  might  be  able  to  help  others  who  pos- 
sibly should  be  brought  face  to  face  with  the  same 
error. 

In  his  preface,  he  says :  "I  have  examined  a  num- 
ber of  libraries,  public  and  private,  but  have  never 
found  a  book  that  pursued  the  course  of  reasoning 
which,  to  my  mind,  most  successfully  exposed  the 
errors  of  that  system."  He  has  sought  to  state  clearly 
and  distinctly  the  theories  of  this  system,  and  then 
his  objections  thereto.  He  does  not  give  the  argu- 
ments as  all  his  own,  but  the  arrangement  is  his  ovm. 
He  simply  claims  to  be  a  plain  man,  in  a  plain  way 


356  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

presenting  plain  truth,  with  the  hope  that  "the  ear- 
nest inquirer  after  truth  may  find  much  in  this  un- 
pretending volume  to  strengthen  his  faith  in  the 
great  fundamental  doctrine  of  the  gospel  of  Jesus 
Christ." 

The  author  states  the  propositions  in  the  follow- 
ing forms:  "If  the  Scriptures  teach  the  ultimate 
holiness  and  salvation  of  all  men,  they  must,  in  clear 
and  unmistakable  terms,  teach  one  of  five  things: 
First,  that  all  men  are  made  holy  in  this  life ;  or,  sec- 
ond, that  all  men  not  made  holy  in  this  life  will  be 
made  holy  in  death;  or,  third,  that  those  not  made 
holy  in  this  life  nor  in  death  will  be  made  holy  in 
the  resurrection;  or,  fourth,  all  who  are  not  made 
holy  in  this  life  nor  in  death  nor  in  the  resurrection 
will  be  made  holy  between  the  death  and  the  resur- 
rection of  the  body ;  or,  fifth,  that  those  who  are  not 
made  holy  in  this  life  nor  in  death  nor  in  the  resur- 
rection nor  between  death  and  the  resurrection  of  the 
body  will  be  made  holy  somewhere  after  the  resur- 
rection ;  I  can  think  of  no  other  possible  supposition. 
But  do  the  Scriptures  anywhere  teach  that  all  men 
will  be  made  holy,  either  here  or  hereafter?"  He 
carefully,  as  we  believe,  negatives  every  one  of  these 
propositions  by  a  wealth  of  Scripture  statement, 
clearly  and  fairly  presented,  that  is  surprising. 
After  quoting  from  a  number  of  Universalist  au- 
thors, to  show  what  they  teach,  he  proceeds,  in  a  fair 
and  earnest  way,  to  show  how  antagonistic  they  are 
to  the  plain  and  unequivocal  statements  of  God's 
Word.    When  the  book  was  written,  it  seemed  as  if 


How  He  Used  His  Pen  357 

there  was  nothing  else  to  be  said.  For  a  man  who 
had  not  been  trained  in  the  schools,  but  had  picked 
up  his  information  as  he  journeyed  along  through 
the  forest,  a  half -paid  itinerant  on  his  way  to  his  next 
appointment,  his  wealth  of  Scripture  illustration  and 
clear  and  forcible  style  are  simply  marvelous. 

He  closes  this  earnest  discussion  with  these  words : 
"The  whole  theory  of  Universalism  is  false,  danger- 
ous, and  pernicious.  Any  system  of  religion  that 
starts  out  by  making  God  the  author  of  sin,  and 
then  denies  the  doctrine  of  depravity,  and  rejects  the 
divinity  of  Christ  and  the  doctrine  of  the  vicarious 
atonement,  is  false  in  all  its  parts.  It  is  another 
religion,  and  makes  the  Bible  an  unnecessary  book. 
It  promises  an  endless  life  of  bliss  to  all  men  alike, 
whether  they  be  saints  or  sinners.  The  atheist,  the 
deist,  the  drunkard,  or  murderer, who  die  as  they  live, 
will  be  crowned  in  glory  all  the  same  as  those  who 
believe  and  obey  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ.  Be  not 
deceived  by  this  siren  song  of  peace." 

In  1889,  he  edited  a  volume  on  "Christian  Doc- 
trine," which  was  intended  to  be  a  comprehensive 
treatise  on  systematic  and  practical  theology.  It  was 
issued  in  octavo  form,  and  contained  six  hundred  and 
eleven  pages.  It  comprised  thirty-seven  chapters, 
each  one  written  by  a  different  person.  Bishop 
Weaver  himself  wrote  the  article  on  the  "Divinity 
of  Christ."  The  plan  was  his  own,  and  he  selected 
the  men  and  assigned  the  subjects.  In  some  of  the 
articles  he  was  a  little  disappointed,  but  most  of 
them  were  very  commendable.     We  had  no  work  on 


358  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

theology  up  to  this  date,  written  by  any  one  of  our 
own  Church.  He  says  of  it:  "For  a  number  of 
years,  I  have  been  impressed  that  a  volume  of  a 
practical  character,  carefully  prepared  by  different 
authors,  embracing  the  leading  doctrines  of  Chris- 
tian theology,  would  be  interesting  and  helpful  to 
young  ministers  and  Christian  workers  generally. 
There  are  many  volumes  of  theology,  rich  and  full, 
but  many  of  them  are  too  elaborate  for  the  majority 
of  Christian  workers.  What  we  need  most  of  all  is 
the  plain,  simple  truths  of  the  gospel  of  Christ.  In 
this  volume  the  aim  has  been  to  submit  the  positive 
side  of  accepted  truth  without  exhaustive  or  labored 
discussions.  The  book  is  intended  to  bring  directly 
before  the  mind,  in  a  practical  way,  the  leading  doc- 
trines contained  in  the  gospel  of  our  Lord." 

The  book  was  larger  and  the  price  correspondingly 
greater  than  of  his  other  books,  so,  while  having  a 
fair  sale,  it  did  not  sell  as  extensively  as  some  of  the 
others. 

In  1892,  he  prepared  another  volume,  finally  issued 
in  1894,  entitled  "A  Practical  Comment  on  the  Con- 
fession of  Faith  of  the  United  Brethren  in  Christ," 
12mo,  185  pages.  In  the  trials  for  the  control  of 
the  Church  property,  which  came  after  the  work  of 
the  commission  had  been  approved,  it  was  asserted 
that  the  Confession  of  Faith  had  been  changed,  so 
that  virtually  this  was  now  a  new  church.  It  was 
the  work  of  Bishop  Weaver,  as  a  witness,  mainly  to 
show  how  they  were  essentially  the  same  as  to  doc- 
trine, but  arranged  in  more  systematic  form.    To  do 


How  He  Used  His  Pen  359 

this,  he  made  a  thorough  study  of  the  subject  He 
acquitted  himself  so  well  that  it  was  suggested  that 
he  should  print  these  studies  in  book  form  for  the 
benefit  of  the  younger  ministry  of  the  Church.  By 
quoting  several  of  the  old  creeds,  sketching  their  his- 
tory, and  detailing  the  important  offices  they  have 
performed  in  the  past  history  of  the  Church,  the 
author  has  outlined,  in  a  concrete  form,  for  this 
Church  a  vast  amount  of  information  of  great  im- 
portance. 

In  1899,  when  seventy-five  years  of  age,  there  ap- 
peared from  his  fertile  pen  another  volume,  the  child 
of  his  old  age,  and  in  the  preparation  of  which  he 
took  more  pleasure  than  in  that  of  any  other  of 
his  productions,  entitled  "Heaven;  or.  That  Better 
Country."  He  had  given  the  subject  much  thought, 
and  it  was  pleasant  to  feel  that  he  might  be  an 
inspiration  to  some  one  else,  and  make  this  to 
them  a  subject  of  special  interest,  as  it  had  been  to 
him.  He  said  to  a  brother  with  whom  he  was  con- 
versing: "I  take  more  pleasure  and  comfort  in  lin- 
gering about  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration  than  I  do 
in  gazing  upon  the  steep  sides  of  Sinai.  There  is  too 
much  noise  and  racket  about  the  latter  to  make  it  an 
enjoyable  place." 

"When  his  tongue  shall  no  longer  utter  in  tender- 
ness and  love,  with  matchless  simplicity,  the  gospel  of 
the  Son  of  God,  this  book  will  be  read  by  thousands 
with  ever-increasing  delight  and  edification."  It  has 
sold  more  extensively  than  any  other  book  he  has 
ever  written.     It  has  found  a  patronage  outside  of 


360  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

the  Church  as  well  as  in.  His  views  of  heaven  are 
presented  to  us  in  twelve  different  chapters,  as  fol- 
lows: (1)  Is  There  a  Better  Country?  (2)  Immor- 
tality; (3)  Heaven,  a  Local,  Substantial  Place; 
(4)  Various  Theories  Concerning  the  Future;  (5) 
Heaven — A  Better  Country;  (6)  Progress  and  Em- 
ployment in  Heaven;  (7)  Heaven — Society,  Recog-" 
nition;  (8)  Heaven — Home;  (9)  Heaven — A  Place 
of  Rest;  (10)  Heaven — Sources  of  Happiness; 
(11)  Negative  Descriptions;  (12)  Preparation  for 
Heaven. 

In  his  introduction,  Bishop  Weaver  writes :  ''The 
author,  in  his  own  not  very  attractive  style,  has 
sought  to  bring  before  the  mind  of  the  reader  as  clear 
ideas  of  the  future  state  of  the  saints  as  it  was  pos- 
sible for  him  to  do.  He  is  fully  aware  of  the  lack 
of  literary  finish,  but  hopes  that  it  may  be  helpful  and 
encouraging  to  at  least  a  few  of  the  pilgrim  sojourn- 
ers who  are  seeking  for,  and  earnestly  desiring  to 
find  that  better  country.  May  it  be  that  on  some 
glad  day,  when  the  clouds  are  lifted  and  the  mists 
have  rolled  away,  the  reader  and  the  writer  will  find 
a  home  in  the  Father's  house  of  many  mansions. 
With  the  hope  that  some  wayfaring  pilgrim  may  be 
helped  on  his  way  to  the  city  of  the  living  God,  this 
unpretending  little  book  is  given  to  the  public  by 
the  author." 

After  these  glimpses  of  the  better  country,  these 
pictures  which  have  cheered  our  hearts  and  strength- 
ened our  faith,  he  comes  to  the  last  pages,  and  in  these 
he  tells  us  of  his  own  whereabouts :    "I  am  now  near 


How  He  Used  His  Fen  361 

the  base  of  life's  rugged  mountain,  on  the  western 
slope.  I  cannot  go  back  if  I  would.  There  are  only 
a  few  steps  between  me  and  the  river.  I  know  it 
must  be  so,  for  the  shadows  of  life's  evening  tree  are 
falling  thick  around  me.  What  if  this  were  all  'i 
What  if  nothing  remained  for  me  but  the  few  steps 
before  me,  then  to  cease  to  be,  the  same  as  if  I  had 
not  been  at  all  ?  Wherein  lies  the  difference  between 
not  beginning  to  be  and  ceasing  to  be  ?  The  evening 
time  qf  life  to  one  who  has  nothing  to  look  for  beyond 
must  be  dim  and  shadowy.  But  there  is  something 
after  this  life. 

"  'In  the  twilight  of  a  summer's  evening,  a  pastor 
called  at  the  residence  of  one  of  his  parishioners,  and 
found  seated  in  the  doorway  a  little  boy,  with  both 
hands  extended  upward,  holding  to  a  line.  "What 
are  you  doing  here,  my  little  friend  ?"  inquired  the 
minister.  "Flying  my  kite,  sir,"  was  the  reply. 
"Flying  your  kite !"  exclaimed  the  pastor,  "I  can  see 
no  kite;  you  can  see  none."  "I  know  it,  sir,"  re- 
sponded the  lad;  "I  cannot  see  it,  but  I  know  it  is 
there,  for  I  feel  it  pull"  ' 

"We  cannot  see  beyond  the  river,  but  if  our  affec- 
tions are  set  on  things  above  we  shall  realize  beyond 
a  peradventure  that  there  is  something  there  for  us. 
All  this  longing,  hoping,  and  dreaming  means  some- 
thing. We  cannot  all  be  false.  What  does  it 
mean?  .  .  .  The  voice  of  all  the  peoples  of  the 
earth  from  the  remotest  antiquity,  learned  and  un- 
learned, high  and  low,  wise  and  unwise,  poets  and 
philosophers,  is  that  there  is  something  remaining 


362  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

for  man  after  this  life.  The  universal  consent  is 
confirmed  by  a  revelation  from  God,  which  not  only 
teaches  the  fact,  but  points  the  way  leading  to  an  im- 
mortal inheritance  that  fadeth  not  away." 

When  he  penned  those  words  he  stood  so  near  the 
banks  of  the  river  that  his  statements  seem  to  us  not 
so  much  what  he  thought,  but  what,  with  his  dear 
vision,  he  already  saw.  Since  that  time  he  has 
crossed  the  river  and  become  a  citizen  of  that  "better 
country."  The  mists  are  all  gone,  and  he  sees  things 
as  they  really  are.  If,  with  his  increased  light  and 
knowledge,  he  could  be  permitted  to  revise  this  vol- 
ume, how  its  very  words  would  pulsate  with  a  richer 
and  fuller  knowledge.  But  it  cannot  be.  We  must 
patiently  wait  to  look  upon  it  with  our  own  eyes.  No 
pen  can  describe  it  to  us. 

This  was  followed,  in  1900,  by  a  work  on  "Chris- 
tian Theology,"  discussing  such  theological  topics  as 
are  usually  treated  in  such  volumes.  It  is  published 
in  octavo  form,  and  contains  381  pages.  It  does  not 
pretend  to  be  a  scholarly  book;  does  not  so  much 
deal  with  objections  and  answers  to  difficult  questions 
as  it  seeks,  in  a  plain,  simple  way,  to  present  the  posi- 
tive side  of  truth.  We  should  have  liked  it  better 
if  he  had  named  it  "A  Gospel  for  the  Common  Peo- 
ple," for  such  it  really  is.  Some  ten  years  before 
this  volume  appeared,  the  Sunday-School  Board  had 
conceived  the  idea  of  a  little  volume  for  Sunday- 
school  teaching,  to  be  entitled,  possibly,  "A  Manual 
for  Sabbath-School  Workers."  Bishop  Weaver  was 
asked  to  prepare  an  outline  of  theological  teaching 


How  He  Used  His  Fen  363 

embracing  some  fifty  or  more  pages,  for  this  volume, 
and  he  did  sa  For  some  reason,  the  plan  was  finally 
abandoned,  but  the  manuscript  remained  in  the 
hands  of  its  friends.  Later,  when  Bishops  Mills  and 
Kephart  had  consummated  a  plan  for  a  series  of 
books  to  be  written  by  competent  men  in  the  Church, 
to  be  called  "The  New  Century  Library,"  Bishop 
Weaver  was  asked  to  revise  his  previous  outline, 
which  he  did,  giving  one  whole  winter  to  the  work, 
and  thus  it  became  the  first  volume  of  the  contem- 
plated library.  It  is  written  for  those  who  are  in 
no  condition  "to  enter  upon  the  study  of  polemic, 
scholastic,  or  systematic  theology."  There  is  no  sub- 
stitute for  the  plain,  simple  truths  of  the  gospel.  So 
with  no  small  degree  of  timidity,  and  with  many  mis- 
givings, the  author  submits  his  unpretentious  book 
to  the  friends  of  Christianity,  trusting  that  it  may 
be  helpful  to  all  who  will  take  the  time  to  read  and 
examine  its  contents.  We  may  add  concerning  this 
book,  as  has  been  said  by  another:  "Nothing  dull 
comes  from  his  pen.  He  not  only  sees  the  truth 
clearly,  but  there  is  a  refreshing  sprightliness  in  the 
style,  which  infuses  it  with  warmth  and  color,  and 
clothes  it  with  beauty." 

At  one  time,  he  had  prepared  a  little  volume  on 
"Baptism,"  and  went  so  far  as  to  submit  it  to  a  com- 
mittee appointed  by  his  own  conference,  and  they, 
approved  its  publication,  and  so  recommended.  After 
a  more  careful  examination,  he  feared  it  would  not 
meet  the  demands  of  the  times  as  they  needed  to  be 
met,  so  it  was  not  published. 


364  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

He  also  had  in  mind  to  prepare  a  volume  of  ser- 
mons, and  had  he  lived  a  few  months  longer  he,  no 
doubt,  would  have  done  so.  But,  in  the  providence 
of  God,  "Christian  Theology"  was  the  last  volume 
he  wrote.  It  was  fitting  that  one  who  had  been  a 
bishop  of  the  Church  for  thirty-six  years,  and  who 
had  gone  in  and  out  before  his  brethren,  helping 
them  by  judicious  counsel  and  a  good  example, 
should,  with  his  dying  hand,  give  to  them  his  most 
mature  views  of  the  God  in  whom  he  had  believed, 
and  whom  he  should  soon  see,  and  the  plan  of  re- 
demption which  had  saved  the  chief  of  sinners,  and 
was  yet  able  to  save  all  who  would  accept  it 


CHAPTEK  XXI. 
Geowing  Old. 

The  years  have  come  and  gone,  oh,  how  rapidly, 
and  he  reaches  his  seventieth  birthday  anniversary, 
February  23,  1894.  A  few  friends  gathered  to 
commemorate  the  event.  The  bishop  read  a  brief 
address,  reviewing  the  last  fifty  years  of  his  life  as 
a  minister  of  the  gospel.  Impromptu  remarks  were 
made  by  some  of  the  guests  present,  and  the  bishop 
was  quite  hopeful  and  cheerful.  From  that  address 
we  make  an  extract: 

"Fifty  years  have  come  and  disappeared  since  I 
entered  the  ministry,  forty-seven  of  which  I  have 
spent  in  the  active  work.  Fifty  years  ago,  this 
Church  had  no  colleges,  no  missionary  society,  no 
Sabbath-school  organization,  no  Sabbath-school  lit- 
erature, no  church-erection  board,  but  few  houses  of 
worship,  and  not  to  exceed  twenty  thousand  mem- 
bers. To-day,  we  have  sixteen  institutions  of  learn- 
ing, a  board  of  missions,  scores  of  missionaries  in 
the  field,  a  Sabbath-school  organization,  with  two 
hundred  and  twenty-eight  thousand  scholars  en- 
rolled, three  thousand  houses  of  worship,  and  two 
hundred  and  ten  thousand  members.  On  this,  my 
seventieth  birthday,  I  rejoice,  not  in  the  labor  I 
have  done,  but  in  the  fact  that  I  have  been  honored 


366  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

with  a  place  in  the  Church  during  these  years  of 
growth  and  prosperity. 

*'The  friends  of  my  early  life  are  nearly  all  gone ; 
one  by  one  they  have  passed  to  the  unseen.  In  the 
conference  journal,  where  my  name  was  written 
nearly  half  a  century  ago,  it  stands  alone.  Fifty 
other  names  were  there  when  mine  was  put  on  the 
record,  but  not  one  of  them  remains.  Three  or  four 
are  still  living,  but  their  names  are  upon  other  jou]> 
nals.    What  an  inexplicable  mystery  life  is ! 

"Concerning  the  past,  I  have  nothing  of  myself 
of  which  I  can  boast.  Goodness  and  mercy  have  fol- 
lowed me  all  the  days  of  my  life.  God  has  given 
me  friends,  food,  and  raiment.  I  have  had  some 
dark  days,  but,  as  compared  with  the  light  and  cheer- 
ing ones,  they  are  insignificant.  God  has  not  in- 
trusted me  with  much  of  this  world's  treasure;  he 
knew  it  would  be  better  for  me  not  to  do  so.  The  one 
regret  is  that  I  have  not  done  more  and  better  work 
for  him  from  whom  I  have  received  so  much.  Now, 
they  tell  me,  I  am  growing  old. 

"Concerning  the  future,  that  to  me  is  wrapped 
in  mystery.  One  thing  I  know,  that  the  days  of  the 
years  of  my  pilgrimage  must  be  nearing  the  end. 
'To  be,  or  not  to  be,'  with  some  may  be  a  question, 
but  with  me  it  is  no  question  at  all.  I  be,  and  shall 
forever  be ;  not  here,  but  there." 

In  the  early  part  of  the  year,  the  Telescope  pub- 
lished three  of  his  sermons :  "Christ's  Seven  Utter- 
ances on  the  Cross,"  "Soul  Satisfaction,"  and  "The 
Faultless  One."     Articles  followed  on  a  variety  of 


Growing  Old  36T 

subjects:  "Our  Itinerant  Plan"  is  a  defense  of  it 
as  tiie  best  way  for  us  to  work;  *'Kegeneration,"  a 
fundamental  doctrine  about  which,  there  should  be 
no  mistake;  "Religion — Experimental,"  is  to  come 
within  the  range  of  conscious  experience,  and  is  not 
simply  a  matter  of  intellectual  perception ;  "Getting 
Ready  to  Start  on  a  Journey"  reminds  us  that  we  are 
all  going  on  a  journey  to  another  world,  and  special 
preparation  is  needed;  "Kindness"  wins  more  souls 
to  Christ  than  can  be  won  in  any  other  way;  "Look 
on  the  Bright  Side,"  for  whether  we  see  it  or  not,  the 
sun  is  always  shining. 

He  held  Michigan,  North  Michigan,  St  Joseph, 
Sandusky,  and  Des  Moines  conferences,  and  his 
health  held  out  remarkably  well.  He  returned  from 
them  cheerful  and  happy. 

The  new  year  opened  with  the  celebration  of  the 
sixtieth  anniversary  of  the  founding  of  the  Telescope, 
and  he  was  asked  to  make  a  brief  address  on  "A 
Bishop's  View  of  the  Publishing  Hoaise,"  in  which 
he  tells  us  that  the  first  time  he  saw  an  article  from 
his  pen  in  this  paper  he  thought  the  paper  was 
much  better  than  it  had  ever  seemed  before. 

His  communications  began  with  the  year's  open- 
ing. "The  Outlook"  shows  that  our  Church  environ- 
ments are  favorable  to  growth  and  development; 
"Assurance"  asks  whether  it  is  possible  for  any  man 
to  know,  beyond  a  peradventure,  that  he  is  saved, 
and  answers  it  affirmatively;  "What  About  Young 
Converts?"  advises  that  they  be  watched  over  and 
encouraged;  "Our  Church  Litigation"  tells  us  we 


368  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

have  been  at  it  nearly  six  years;  he  wanted  to  live 
long  enough  to  see  the  end ;  now  he  is  seeing  the  be- 
ginning of  the  end ;  before  us  is  an  open  sea ;  'Tower 
vs.  Form"  asserts  that  the  Church  is  well  organized ; 
Avhat  we  now  most  need  is  the  Christ  life  in  the  soul. 

His  conferences  this  year  were:  Miami,  in  Day- 
ton, September  4;  East  Ohio,  New  Philadelphia, 
September  11 ;  Columbia  River,  Western  Oregon, 
October  10 ;  Oregon,  Eugene,  October  21 ;  California, 
Selma,  November  1.  His  wife  went  with  him  to 
the  Coast,  Twenty  years  before,  he  had  crossed  the 
mountains  between  the  Willamette  and  Sacramento 
Valley  by  stage.  It  did  not  seem  as  though  a  rail- 
road could  be  built  across  those  rugged  mountains. 
"All  in  all,  our  trip  to  and  from  the  Coast  was  in- 
teresting and  delightful.  The  outlook  for  the  Church 
all  along  the  Coast  is  hopeful.  Comparatively  feeble 
in  health,  I  came  out  none  the  worse,  but  rather 
better  than  when  I  left  home."  An  article  in  the 
paper  on  "Christmas"  closes  the  work  of  another 
year. 

During  the  winter,  he  was  confined  to  his  room  by 
an  attack  of  grip,  and  his  physician  had  forbidden 
him  to  make  any  engagements.  While  he  was  too 
weak  to  travel  and  dedicate  churches,  yet  he  could 
still  hold  his  pen.  Then  appeared  an  article  on 
"Church  Music,"  claiming  it  should  not  be  a  per- 
formance merely,  but  an  act  of  spiritual  worship ;  in 
"One  Drop  of  Blood,"  he  takes  occasion  to  assert 
that  loose  views  of  the  atonement  tend  to  tmsettle 
every  other  fundamental   doctrine  of  the  gospel; 


Growing  Old  369 

^'Samuel,  the  Prophet  and  Statesman,"  should  be 
held  up  for  public  admiration  as  an  administrator 
of  public  affairs;  "Worship,"  how  rendered  so  as 
to  be  acceptable;  "The  Suffering  of  Christ";  "The 
Ontario  Decision";  "Culture  versus  Spirituality" 
gives  occasion  to  ask  the  question  whether  the  culti- 
vation of  the  intellectual  faculties  is  opposed  to  spir- 
ituality. 

In  May,  he  went  to  Leipsic,  to  attend  the  funeral 
of  an  elder  brother,  Nicholas  Weaver,  who  had  died 
from  cancer.  For  years  he  had  been  a  member  of 
the  Church. 

His  conferences  for  this  year  were :  Illinois,  held 
in  Astoria,  September  19 ;  Central  Illinois,  Lexing- 
ton, September  16 ;  Rock  River,  Polo,  September 
23 ;  Wisconsin,  Richland  Center,  September  30 ; 
Minnesota,  Spring  Valley,  October  7.  Before  he  re- 
turned home,  he  visited  some  friends  in  Iowa.  ITews- 
paper  articles  followed,  on  "Our  Mission  Work," 
showing  that  the  field  for  aggressive  work  is  opened 
as  never  before;  "A  Few  Observations,"  comprising 
a  few  things  he  had  learned  which  may  be  helpful 
to  ministers ;  "To  Be,  or  ISTot  to  Be" ;  "The  General 
Conference";  "Unity";  "Love  Supreme."  These 
comprise  the  work  of  another  year. 

In  an  article  on  "Our  Itineracy,"  in  the  spring  of 
1897,  he  writes :  "I  have  been  in  the  itineracy  fifty- 
one  years  without  a  break,  and  I  have  not  yet  found 
anything  in  it  arbitrary  or  oppressive.  I  am,  and 
have  always  been  satisfied  with  it.  I  do  not  see  that 
I  could  have  done  more  work,  but  it  should  have  been 


370  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

very  much  better.  My  first  fields  of  labor  were  not 
flower  gardens,  and  it  is  well  they  were  not,  for  I  was 
not  much  of  a  florist ;  but,  rough  as  they  were,  I  en- 
joyed it.  I  always  did  love  to  work  in  revivals,  real 
genuine  revivals,  where  men  and  women  were  ac- 
tually converted,  inside  and  outsida  Then  I  liked 
those  'amen  comers.'  Of  course,  we  still  have  the 
'corners,'  but  the  'amens'  have,  for  the  most  part,^ 
gone  'where  the  woodbine  twineth.'  " 

He  held  the  Tennessee  Conference  at  White  Pine^ 
February  24,  1897.  In  an  article  on  "Our  Polity — 
Economy,"  he  shows  that  to  mar  the  polity  of  a 
Church  with  no  higher  motive  than  to  save  a  little 
expense  is  a  very  doubtful  propriety.  In  an  article 
on  "Reminiscences,"  we  find  the  following:  "In 
those  early  times  everything  went  along  without  any 
special  reference  to  system.  The  salary  of  the  min- 
isters ranged  along  almost  anywhere  from  twenty- 
five  dollars  to  one  hundred  dollars.  The  preachers 
were  lame  in  philosophy,  and  knew  nothing  of  the 
higher  criticism ;  but  on  the  cardinal  doctrines  of  the 
gospel  they  were  giants.  They  would  preach  on  the 
judgment  and  future  rewards  or  punishments  until 
one  would  think  the  day  had  come.  Over  fifty  years 
ago,  I  entered  the  ministry.  I  have  seen  the  Church 
grow  from  less  than  twenty  thousand  to  two  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  members.  Two  weeks  ago,  I  met 
and  worshiped  with  the  first  man  I  received  into  the 
Church,  more  than  fifty  years  ago.  Is  it  strange  my 
old  heart  should  grow  a  little  warm  as  I  muse  and 
write  of  incidents  of  other  years  ?  Fifty  years  ago. 


Growing  Old  371 

there  was  not  a  graduate  in  the  Church ;  now  we  have 
scores  and  hundreds  of  them." 

The  twenty-second  General  Conference  of  the 
United  Brethren  in  Christ  convened  in  Toledo,  Iowa, 
May  13,  1897.  Bishop  Weaver,  as  the  senior  bishop, 
presided  at  the  opening.  He  had  prepared,  for  the 
most  part,  the  bishops'  quadrennial  address,  selec- 
tions from  which  were  read  by  Bishop  Mills.  Bishop 
Weaver  expected  it  to  be  his  last  address,  as  it 
was,  and  gave  no  little  attention  to  it.  It  was  a 
masterly  presentation  of  the  conditions  of  the 
Church  and  the  matters  that  seemed,  especially,  to 
demand  attention. 

During  a  little  lull  in  business,  on  the  third  day, 
Bishop  Weaver  asked  to  make  a  few  remarks: 
"Forty  years  ago,  I  was  present  at  my  first  General 
Conference,  which  convened  at  Cincinnati,  and,  by 
the  blessing  of  God,  I  have  been  a  member  of  each 
gathering  from  that  time  until  now.  There  are,  this 
morning,  present  four  who  were  members  of  that 
Conference,  all  that  are  left — Brother  Shuck, 
Brother  W.  C.  Smith,  Brother  Shuey,  •  and  myself. 
Will  these  brethren  stand  up  ?  We  four  were  there, 
and  we  bid  you  younger  members  of  this  Conference 
be  true  to  God,  true  to  yourselves,  and  true  to  the 
Church  you  are  here  to  represent.  May  the  blessing 
of  Almighty  God  fall  upon  you  all." 

The  "Home  of  the  Soul"  was  sung,  and  Bishop 
Castle  led  in  a  touching  prayer  for  each  one  of  these 
four,  and  for  the  presence  of  the  Spirit  with  all.  It 
was  a  melting  hour,  many  sorrowing,  because,  in  all 


372  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

probability,  it  was  the  last  time  he  should  meet  with 
them. 

At  this  Conference,  a  brother  made  a  brief  address 
as  fraternal  delegate  from  the  Evangelical  Lutheran 
Church.  Bishop  Weaver  was  asked  to  respond  to 
the  same,  which  he  did  very  appropriately,  ending 
with  the  following  paragraph:  ''Take  back  to  your 
brethren  the  kindly  feelings  of  this  General  Confer- 
ence, and  if  some  trouble  should  arise  in  your  synod, 
as  it  arises  in  these  general  gatherings  once  in  a 
while,  and  there  should  be  a  United  Brethren  there, 
as  I  hope  there  may  be,  you  may  just  appoint  a  com- 
mittee to  wait  on  him,  and  ascertain  how  these 
troubles  are  settled,  for  we  have  gone  through  a  little 
brush,  and  know  just  exactly  how  to  do  it" 

When  the  time  came  for  the  election  of  bishops, 
the  rules  were  suspended,  and  Bishop  Weaver  was 
elected  bishop  emeritus  by  acclamation.  He  re- 
sponded briefly  to  calls  made  for  him:  "I  do  not 
know  that  I  can  do  more  than  to  say  that  I  thank 
you  sincerely  from  the  depths  of  my  heart  for  this 
expression  of  love  and  kindness  and  tenderness  to 
me.  What  surprises  me  most  of  all  is  my  conscious- 
ness of  un worthiness  of  this  honor.  As  you  have 
placed  me  in  this  position  and  in  this  condition,  I 
shall  do  the  very  best  I  know." 

The  conferences  assigned  him  for  1897  were : 
White  Eiver,  at  Greentown,  Indiana,  September  1 ; 
St  Joseph,  Frankfort,  Indiana,  September  8 ;  East 
Ohio,  Ashland,  Ohio,  September  16 ;  Lower  Wabash, 
'Clay  City,  Indiana,  September  22. 


Growing  Old  373 

His  health  in  the  middle  of  the  summer  was  some- 
what critical,  but  he  grew  better  as  the  hot  months 
passed.  He  furnished  the  readers  of  the  Telescope 
with  some  "Scattering  Thoughts  in  the  Sick  Room" ; 
later,  "The  Pulpit,"  a  plea  for  the  preaching  of  the 
simple  truths  of  the  gospel;  "An  Ancient  Hero,"  a 
eulogy  on  Joshua;  "What  and  How  to  Read,"  an 
article  for  the  Thanksgiving  and  book  number  of 
the  Telescope;  "How  to  Reach  the  Masses"  resolves 
itself  into  a  deeper  spirituality  in  the  Church,  a 
genuine  revival  born  of  God. 

Finding  it  inconvenient  to  attend  First  Church, 
of  which,  for  some  time,  he  had  been  a  member, 
October  10,  1897,  he  and  his  wife  transferred  their 
membership  to  Oak  Street  Church,  because,  owing 
to  infirmity,  and  this  church  being  sa  close  to  his 
home,  he  could  more  readily  reach  it  than  he  could 
his  former  church  home. 

During  the  winter  of  1897-98,  he  kept  close  to 
his  room,  partly  because  of  his  uncertain  health,  and 
by  the  advice  of  his  physician,  and  partly  because  he 
was  at  work  on  a  treatise,  which  he  afterwards  pub- 
lished, on  "Christian  Theology."  He  first  appeared 
in  the  issue  of  the  Telescope  of  April  13.  In  spite 
of  his  enfeebled  condition,  his  interest  in  the  Church 
had  not  abated.  Previous  to  this,  he  had  footed  up 
the  reported  conversions,  and  found  them  about  two 
thousand:  "I  tell  you,  it  made  my  old  heart  glad. 
Every  once  in  a  while,  I  feel  like  picking  up  my 
grip  and  starting  out,  as  in  the  days  of  yore,  but  I 
am  quickly  reminded  that  cannot  b&     After  speoid- 


374  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

iiig  fifty  and  two  years  in  the  active  work,  without 
a  break,  it  is  no  easy  matter  to  be  compelled  to  re- 
main for  weeks  and  months  in  your  room."  He  then 
proceeds,  in  an  interesting  article,  to  tell  how  well 
organized  we  are  for  work,  and  that  we  must  care- 
fully look  after  our  polity,  ou^  doctrine,  our  denomi- 
national spirit,  and  our  spiritua.lity,  if  we  would  con- 
tinue to  grow. 

He  was  able  to  be  present  and  preside  at  the  meet- 
ing of  the  Board  of  Missions,  in  Dayton,  Ohio,  May 
6,  1898.  AbiDut  the  seventeenth  of  May,  he  and  his 
wife  left  Dayton  to  visit  their  children  and  friends 
in  Grand  Rapids,  Lament,  and  Lansing,  Michigan, 
the  main  object  being  the  recuperation  of  the  bishop's 
health. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  bishops  in  Dayton,  Ohio, 
April  30,  it  was  arranged  that  Bishop  Weaver  should 
hold  the  following  conferences:  Upper  Wabash, 
September  7,  at  Brook,  Newton  County,  Indiana; 
North  Ohio,  September  15  ;  Des  Moines,  Ames,  Iowa, 
September  28.  He  says:  "Not  being  able  to  do  full 
work,  I  simply  chip  in  and  help  the  others  out  For 
that  reason,  my  diocese  has  no  name;  but  we  do  not 
want  to  be  considered  any  the  less  honorable  for  the 
want  of  a  name." 

Late  in  May,  he  writes  from  Lament,  Michigan : 
"I  have  been  fishing  several  times,  and  have  had 
fair  success.  I  am  trying  to  have  a  real  outing.  The 
object  is  to  improve  my  health,  if  possible.  I  am 
very  weak,  with  a  poor  appetite,  so  that,  altogether, 
I  am  not  getting  along  very  vrell."    In  the  issue  of 


Growing  Old  375 

the  Telescope  for  June  15,  there  is  a  letter  from  hini 
written  from  Lamont,  Michigan,  telling  how  he  is 
trying  to  improve  his  health  bj  fishing  and  outdoor 
exercise.  Following  this,  he  expresses  his  deep  sor- 
row over  the  tragic  fate  of  the  African  missionaries, 
but  he  says :  "We  must  not  falter,  nor  for  a  moment 
entertain  the  thought  of  abandoning  the  field.  The 
history  of  the  church  is  a  history  of  martyrs.  Who 
knows  but  the  good  seed  sown  in  the  field,  instead  of 
being  destroyed,  is  only  scattered  over  a  broader  field 
than  it  otherwise  could  have  been?" 

"As  the  shadows  of  life's  evening  tree  are  thicken- 
ing about  me,  I  am  inclined  to  look  over  the  past. 
It  seems  to  me  that  the  fifty-two  years  which  I  have 
spent  in  the  ministry  have  not  yielded  the  amount  of 
fruit  they  should  have  done.  I  do  not  know  that  I 
could  have  done  more  work,  but  it  should  have  been 
a  great  deal  better.  If  in  the  end  I  am  saved,  it  will 
be  through  the  abundant  grace  of  God,  and  not  for 
anything  I  have  done.  How  insignificant  our  works 
appear  when  the  light  of  eternity  shines  upon  them." 

He  writes  again  from  the  same  place,  July  6,  re- 
porting some  improvement  in  health ;  becomes  remi- 
niscent, and  speaks  of  the  great  improvement  in  the 
quality  and  amount  of  our  literature,  and  yet  it  is 
not  well  for  us  to  go  too  fast.  He  finds  it  pleasant  to 
get  away  from  the  dust  and  fracas  of  the  city  into 
a  quiet  little  village,  where  everybody  knows  every- 
body else;  he  expresses  grief  that  the  Sabbath  is  not 
better  observed,  even  by  Christian  people.  He  apolo- 
gizes for  his  rambling  letter,  as  he  calls  it,  by  saying : 


376  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

"I  want  to  do  something.  After  fifty-two  years  of 
continual  service,  no  matter  how  poor  and  imperfect 
it  may  have  been,  it  is  hard  to  sit  down  and  do  noth- 
ing.   I  am  trying  to  be  contented." 

He  returned  home  July  15,  and  on  the  Sabbath 
following  preached  in  the  Oak  Street  Church.  July 
24  and  31,  he  preached  in  the  First  Lutheran  Church. 
His  rest  in  Michigan  did  him  good.  For  the  Tele- 
scope of  November  23,  he  wrote  an  article  on 
"Thanksgiving."  He  peached  some  in  the  city,  but 
declined  to  go  away  during  the  winter  because  of 
feeble  health.  In  the  last  issue  of  the  Telescope  for 
1898,  he  furnishes  an  interesting  and  cheery  article, 
entitled,  "Good-by,  Old  Year." 

January,  1899,  finds  him  sick  for  a  couple  of 
weeks,  but  when  able  to  use  his  pen  at  work  on 
his  book,  entitled  "Heaven."  Later,  an  article  ap- 
pears from  his  pen  on  "Experience,"  in  which  he 
pleads  that  more  prominence  shall  be  given  to  that 
"grand  old  doctrine  of  a  personal  conscious  experi" 
ence  of  religion.  We  need  more  experimental  preach- 
ing, more  experimental  testimonies,  more  experi- 
mental religion  in  the  heart,  as  well  as  in  the  life." 
Another,  entitled,  "Our  Church — What  It  Is,  What 
It  Has  Done" ;  it  has  always  been  thoroughly  evan- 
gelical ;  its  polity  is  a  growth,  and  is  unique ;  there  is 
no  oppression  anywhere;  its  spirit  is  to  recognize 
Christians  wherever  found.  In  "Drifting,"  he  asks 
if  the  Church  is  drifting  heavenward  or  worldward, 
with  a  strong  intimation  that  the  latter  expresses  the 
present  trend. 


Growing  Old  377 

After  the  meetings  of  the  various  boards  of  which 
he  was  a  member,  he  and  his  wife  left  for  Michigan, 
where  he  expected  to  remain  some  two  months  with 
his  children,  hoping  for  an  improvement  in  his  health. 

May  31,  he  furnished  an  article  on  "Sensibility  in 
Religion,"  in  which  he  insists  that  we  must  not  only 
provide  for  the  cultivation  of  the  intellect,  and  the 
exercise  of  the  will,  but  we  must  also  make  liberal 
provision  for  the  sensibilities.  The  tendency  of  to^ 
day  is  to  ignore  the  emotional  in  religion.  In  a  per- 
sonal letter  to  the  editor,  he  wrote:  "I  have  often 
said,  especially  to  young  ministers,  that  it  takes  grit 
and  grace  to  go  forward,  but  I  find  it  takes  more  of 
both  not  to  go  forward.  There  are  so  many  things 
I  should  like  to  do,  but  cannot  do  them.  Over  and 
above  everything,  the  Lord  reigns." 

He  returned  to  Dayton  about  July  19,  somewhat 
improved,  and  preached  at  Germantown  on  the 
twenty-third,  at  the  reopening  of  the  church,  which 
had  recently  been  repaired.  In  an  article  on  "What 
of  the  Future?"  he  discussed  the  dangers  which 
threaten  us  from  capital  and  labor,  trusts  and  monop- 
olies, the  rum  power,  political  conflicts,  the  assault 
on  the  American  Sabbath,  and  the  Sunday  newspa- 
pers. "Putting  all  these  evils  together,  and  observ- 
ing how  rapidly  they  are  growing,  who  can  predict 
what  the  state  of  things  may  be  twenty-five  years 
hence  ?" 

He  was  present  at  the  Miami  Conference  that  met 
in  Cincinnati,  August  24,  at  which  he  made  a  talk 
emphasizing  the  importance  of  the  development  of 


378  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

Si  symmetrical  Christian  character ;  he  urged  the  edu- 
cation of  the  whole  man,  not  only  the  physical,  intel- 
lectual, and  social  nature,  but  the  spiritual  as  well. 
He  emphasized  this  by  the  following  illustration, 
"Brethren,  go  up  the  intellectual  ladder  as  high  as 
ever,  and  as  far  as  you  can,  but  after  that  take  a 
round  on  Jacob's  ladder,  and  touch  the  heavens." 
Later,  an  article,  "He  Will  Come,"  appeared,  in 
which  he  discussed  the  second  coming  of  Christ. 

An  interesting  incident  occurred  at  the  Rock  River 
Conference,  which  he  held  September  25.  He  was 
in  feeble  health,  but  preached  on  Sabbath  morning 
for  nearly  an  hour,  with  his  old-time  vigor.  Follow- 
ing the  sermon,  came  the  baptism  of  an  infant. 
"There  was  the  beginning  of  life  receiving  a  blessing 
from  the  hands  of  one  whose  snowy  locks  were  al- 
ready waving  with  the  breezes  of  eternity.  It  was 
a  picture  that  angels  admired,  and  over  which  strong 
men  wept." 

On  November  15,  he  writes  on  "How  to  Conduct 
Revivals."  On  December  13,  he  asks,  "Is  There  too 
Much  Organization?" 

He  begins  the  year  1900  with  an  interesting  ar- 
ticle on  "The  Ministerial  Dead-Line,"  in  which  he 
combats  the  modem  notion  of  retiring  ministers  at 
sixty,  no  matter  how  strong  or  cultured  or  able  they 
are:  "If  Luther  had  been  retired  at  sixty,  the 
Reformation  would  have  been  greatly  hindered.  If 
John  Wesley  and  his  coadjutors  had  been  retired  at 
sixty,  the  great  Methodist  Church  might  not  have 
been  organized.     If  William  Otterbein  and  his  co- 


Growing  Old  379 

laborers  had  been  retired  at  sixty,  it  is  doubtful  if 
the  United  Brethren  Church  would  have  been  in  ex- 
istence. Age  should  not  enter  into  this  question. 
Let  ability,  piety  of  life,  and  success  be  the  standard, 
and  not  years."  Later,  he  writes  on  ''Short  Ser- 
mons" ;  any  attempt  to  limit  to  a  definite,  precise 
time  is  unwise;  some  say  thirty  minutes,  and  no 
more.  "Can  it  be  that  persons  thus  minded  realize 
that  the  gospel  is  a  message  from  God  to  the  people  ?" 

He  preached  in  Oak  Street  Church  in  January, 
1900.  The  week  was  stormy,  but  the  papers  had  an- 
nounced that  it  might  be  the  last  sermon  that  he 
would  ever  preach,  and  this  brought  a  houseful  of 
hearers.  The  subject  was,  "Christian  Discipleship." 
(Luke  9:  23.)  The  argument,  matter,  delivery,  and 
effect  of  the  sermon  were  excellent  He  had  never 
preached  from  this  text  before.  He  spoke  fifty  min- 
utes with  marvelous  strength.  He  remarked  at  the 
close,  with  a  merry  twinkle  in  his  eye:  "The  papers 
say  this  will  be  my  last  sermon.  It  may  be,  but  if  I 
live,  it  will  not  be,  and  if  this  should  be  my  last  mes- 
sage, I  want  it  to  be  true,  plain,  and  honest" 

February  21,  1900,  he  furnished  an  article  on 
"Walking  Through  the  Valley,"  in  which  he  wrote: 
"Of  the  millions  and  billions  of  those  who  have  gone 
from  us,  not  one  has  returned  to  describe  his  experi- 
ence while  passing  through  the  valley  of  the  shadow 
of  death.  All  is  wrapped  in  the  most  profound  mys- 
tery. We  cannot  know,  if  we  would.  But  there  are 
many  questions  which  are  suggested  to  the  mind  as 
we   contemplate   that  mysterious   journey.      Going 


380  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

from  one  world  to  another,  from  one  mode  of  existr 
ence  to  another,  from  one  state  of  society  to  another, 
and  from  one  condition  to  another,  is  no  ordinary 
event  Is  the  soul  distinctly  conscious  that  the  time 
has  come  when  it  must  quit  this  clay  tenement  1  Does 
it  experience  pleasure  or  regret  at  being  separated 
from  the  body  ?  Does  it,  or  can  it  look  back  to  see 
the  earthly  house  where  it  dwelt  for  a  time  ?  What 
are  the  thoughts  of  the  past  and  the  future?  What 
are  the  first  impressions  of  the  soul  when  the  now 
invisible  is  made  visible?  How  will  the  things  ma- 
terial and  immaterial  appear  to  the  opened  vision 
of  the  soul  as  viewed  from  the  immaterial  side? 
These,  and  like  questions  must  remain  unanswered 
until  the  gate  is  lifted  and  we  fly  away." 

He  further  illustrated  this  by  an  incident  of  his 
earlier  years : 

"Years  ago,  while  passing  through  what  was  then 
the  territory  of  Idaho,  by  stage,  we  came  to  a  desert. 
The  day  was  exceedingly  hot,  and  the  dust  mixed 
with  alkali  made  it  very  disagreeable.  A  while  be- 
fore sundown,  we  entered  a  pass  through  a  mountain 
which  was  altogether  different  from  the  desert  over 
which  we  had  traveled  all  day.  It  was  about  ten 
miles  long,  and  five  miles  wide,  and  covered  with 
grass  and  flowers.  A  stream  of  water  almost  as  clear 
as  crystal  flowed  through  the  midst  of  it  Altogether, 
it  was  one  of  the  most  beautiful  valleys  I  had  ever 
looked  upon.  The  mountain  to  the  west  was  very 
high,  as  was  also  the  mountain  to  the  east  It  being 
nearly  sundovm,  the  shadow  of  the  mountain  to  the 


Growing  Old  381 

west  fell  across  the  valley  and  part  way  up  the  moun- 
tain to  the  east.  There  we  were  in  the  shadow,  but 
it  was  neither  dark  nor  gloomy.  The  light,  reflected 
from  the  mountain  peaks  to  the  east,  fell  back  over 
the  valley  and  lifted  whatever  gloom  there  might 
otherwise  have  been.  As  I  took  in  the  situation,  the 
thought  came  to  me  th^t  this  must  be  very  like  the 
shadow  of  death.  As  the  Christian  enters  this  valley, 
the  shadow  of  the  cold  mountains  may,  and  doubt- 
less will  fall  across  it ;  but  a  strange,  beautiful  light, 
reflected  from  the  peaks  of  the  mountains  on  the 
heaven  side,  falling  back  across  the  valley,  will  lift 
and  dispel  whatever  gloom  might  otherwise  be  there. 
I  had  never  gone  that  way,  but  I  was  not  afraid,  for 
I  was  not  alone.  The  driver,  having  gone  over  the 
way  before,  knew  all  about  it,  and  assured  me  that  it 
was  perfectly  safe.  So  in  passing  through  that  other 
valley,  the  Christian  will  not  be  alone.  He  who  said, 
'I  am  Alpha  and  Omega,'  also  said,  'I  will  never 
leave  thee  nor  forsake  thee,*  not  even  in  the  'swelling 
of  Jordan.* " 


CHAPTER  XXII. 
A  Voice  from  Beulah  Laih). 

Bishop  Weaver's  seventy-sixth  birthday  occurred 
February  23,  1900.  He  was  at  home  at  the  time, 
and  this  gave  an  opportunity  to  some  of  his  more 
intimate  friends  to  call  on  him  and  his  wife,  who 
had  walked  by  his  side,  and  helped  to  carry  his  bur- 
dens for  some  forty-five  years.  Following  the  greet- 
ings, there  was  a  brief  religious  service,  after  which, 
in  behalf  of  the  company.  Dr.  I.  L.  Kephart  pre- 
sented the  bishop  and  his  wife  with  a  beautiful  couch 
and  a  Morris  chair.  He  responded  in  an  appropriate 
address,  which  we  have  been  asked  to  insert  entire, 
as  it  was  the  last  of  the  kind  he  ever  made.  It  was 
an  occasion  not  soon  to  be  forgotten.  He  was  in 
feeble  health,  and  sat  while  making  the  address.  Dr. 
Kephart  called  it  "a  voice  from  Beulah  Land" : 

"Beloved  friends  and  neighbors,  to-day  I  say  good- 
by  to  the  seventy-sixth  mile^stone  of  my  pilgrimage 
from  the  cradle  to  the  grave;  and  I  desire,  first  of 
all,  above  everything  else,  to  put  upon  record  my 
sincere  gratitude  to  Almighty  God  for  his  loving 
kindnesses  to  me  during  all  the  years  past.  If  I 
would  declare  and  speak  of  them,  they  are  more  than 
can  be  numbered.  What  shall  I,  what  can  I  render 
unto  the  Lord  for  all  his  benefits  toward  me?     My 

382 


A  Voice  from  Beulah  Land  383 

chief  regret  is,  that  I  am  not  a  better  man,  and  that 
I  have  not  done  more  and  better  work.  But  the 
record  is  made,  and  I  cannot  go  back  to  change  a 
single  word  or  act*  But  God  is  good,  and  can  forgive. 
There  are  times  when  a  peculiar  sense  of  loneli- 
ness steals  over  my  heart.  Not  that  the  friends  about 
me  are  cold  and  unkind,  but  because  nearly  all  the 
friends  of  other  years  have  gone  from  ma  I  cannot 
recall  the  name  of  a  single  minister,  now  living, 
that  was  in  the  Church  when  I  united  vdth  it,  and 
not  to  exceed  a  dozen  members.  Concerning  my  own 
family  connections,  the  change  is  about  the  same. 
I  am  the  youngest  of  twelve  children,  and  remem- 
ber when  there  were  thirteen  of  us,  including  father 
and  mother  (one  brother  having  died)  ;  but  now  only 
two  remain.  One  by  one  they  entered  the  valley  of 
the  shadow  of  death,  and  I  saw  them  no  more.  But 
memory,  true  to  her  trust,  will  not  erase  their  names, 
and  often  passes  the  record  before  the  mind's  ever- 
wakeful  eye.  Do  you  wonder  that  now  and  then  I 
feel  lonely  ?  Would  it  not  be  strange  if  I  never  felt 
thus  ? 

"Marvelous  changes,  in  both  church  and  state, 
have  occurred  during  the  days  of  the  years  of  my 
pilgrimage.  Some  of  these  were,  doubtless,  wise, 
and  some,  may  be,  were  otherwise.  If  some  one  who 
lived  seventy-six  years  ago  had  been  taken  away  and 
now  brought  back,  he  would  hardly  believe  that  it 
is  the  same  old  world.  Especially  is  this  true  of 
the  United  States.  Let  me  mention  three  things — 
the  railroads,  the  utilization  of  steam,  and  electricity. 


384  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

But  little  was  known  of  these  in  the  days  of  my 
boyhood.  What  would  we  do  to-day  without  them? 
To  realize  the  difference,  one  must  have  lived  then 
and  now.  Vast  changes  have  also  taJken  place  in  the 
agricultural,  commercial,  professional,  and  various 
business  and  social  departments. 

"But  some  things  remain  about  as  they  were.  The 
sun,  moon,  and  stars  continue  to  move  in  their  same 
old  grooves,  and  at  a  speed  that  utterly  bewilders  us. 
The  earth  turns  on  its  axis  and  makes  it  annual  jour- 
ney around  the  sun,  just  as  it  did  in  the  long  ago. 
The  lightning's  flash,  the  thunder's  roll,  and  the 
aurora  borealis  continue  to  challenge  our  wonder  and 
admiration,  the  same  as  they  did  threescore  and  ten 
years  ago.  The  roses,  lilacs,  and  lilies  continue  to 
bloom  and  emit  their  odors  the  same  as  in  the  days 
of  yore.  The  birds  sing  their  same  old  songs  and 
build  their  nests  after  the  same  pattern  as  in  the 
long  ago.  The  bee  constructs  its  cell  on  the  same 
general  plan  it  did  in  former  ages,  and  the  warmth 
of  its  touch  is  similiar  to  what  it  was  when  I  was  a 
boy.  By  the  combined  action  of  certain  fixed  laws 
and  forces,  old  nature  will  repeat  herself  over  and 
over  as  the  years  come  and  go.  The  changes  which 
have  been  going  on  during  the  ages  past,  for  the  most 
part,  are  traceable  to  man.  Standing,  as  we  do,  in 
the  last  year  of  the  last  decade  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury, we  look  over  the  past  and  peer  into  the  future, 
and  ask.  What  next  ? 

"Changes  not  a  few  have  occurred  in  the  church 
general.    Forms  and  ceremonies  remain  substantially 


A  Voice  from  JBeulah  Land  385 

the  same,  except  that  a  few  have  been  made  more 
prominent  The  relation  between  the  several 
branches  of  the  church  family  has  grown  more  cor- 
dial. !N^ew  conditions  have  arisen,  and  new  methods 
have  been  adopted  to  meet  these  new  conditions. 
Whether  or  not  all  these  changes  have  been  wise,  the 
fruits  thereof  must  be  the  witness. 

"As  a  denomination,  we  are  not  as  we  were  three- 
score and  ten  years  ago.  We  have  more  Christianity, 
but  proportionately  lees  religion.  Lest  some  of  you 
might  say  this  is  a  distinction  without  a  diflFerence, 
I  will  explain.  The  cardinal  doctrines  of  the  Bible 
are  better  and  more  generally  understood  than  they 
were  sixty  years  ago;  but  the  personal  and  experi- 
mental enjoyment  of  these  divine  truths  has  not  in- 
creased with  this  increased  knowledge.  In  former 
times,  but  little  attention  was  given  to  culture.  In- 
deed, the  majority  of  the  ministers  with  whom  I  came 
in  touch  were  opposed  to  education.  It  was  not  at 
all  uncommon  to  hear  colleges  and  seminaries  de^ 
nounced  from  the  pulpit.  Many  times  I  have  heard 
ministers  boastingly  say  that  they  had  never  rubbed 
their  backs  against  a  college  or  seminary.  But  they 
almost  said,  'See  how  I  can  preach  without  an  edu- 
cation.' That  was  evidently  what  they  wanted  the 
people  to  understand.  The  one  supreme  object 
seemed  to  be  to  arouse  the  sensibilities.  A  minister 
who  could  not  make,  or  cause  to  be  made,  a  good 
deal  of  racket  was  not  considered  a  success,  and  was 
but  little  sought  after.  I  remember  that  on  one  occa- 
sion our  pastor  was  holding  a  protracted  meeting 


386  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

in  a  private  house.  He  had  not  succeeded  as  he  had 
anticipated.  So,  one  evening,  the  house  being 
crowded  and  very  warm,  he  drew  off  his  coat,  and^ 
with  fire  in  his  eye,  said,  'By  the  grace  of  God,  I 
will  make  you  feel.'  He  succeeded,  at  last,  in 
having  quite  a  racket,  mostly,  however,  in  and  with 
himself. 

"Church-houses  in  those  days  were  very  scarce. 
Services  were  held  in  barns,  schoolhouses,  and  pri- 
vate residences.  My  first  charge  was  a  mission,  two 
hundred  miles  around,  with  seventeen  appointments, 
all  in  schoolhouses.  My  salary  was  eighty  dollars, 
spot  cash,  and  I  enjoyed  the  work  hugely. 

"Itinerating  in  those  earlier  years  was  quite  dif- 
ferent from  what  it  is  now.  The  membership  sixty 
years  ago  did  not  exceed  twenty  thousand.  The  cii*- 
cuits  were  large,  ranging  from  fifty  to  two  hundred 
miles  around.  There  were  no  railroads,  and  but  few 
buggies.  The  traveling  was  nearly  all  done  on  horse- 
back. We  had  no  Sabbath  schools,  no  literature  for 
children,  and  none  for  the  adults  except  the  Tele- 
scope, which,  at  that  time,  was  an  innocent  little 
affair.  We  had  no  books  of  our  own,  expect  a  hymn- 
book  and  Discipline,  We  had  no  colleges,  no  Semi- 
nary, and  no  institutions  of  learning  of  any  kind. 
We  had  no  missionary  nor  church-erection  societies  y 
no  young  people's  society  of  either  juniors  or  seniors. 
!N'ot  having  any  of  these  things,  you  will  naturally 
ask  what  we  did  have  ?  Well,  we  had  some  common 
sense,  some  religion,  a  good  deal  of  zeal,  a  small  per 
e^nt.  of  Christianity,  and  the  mourner's  bench.    We 


A  Voice  from  Beulah  Land  387 

made  more  racket  in  one  protracted  meeting  than  is 
now  made  in  five  dozen  of  such  meetings.  Maybe 
we  overdid  it  then,  and  maybe  we  underdo  it  now. 
Those  who  think  that  itinerating  is  hard  now  should 
have  been  in  the  field  a  half  a  century  ago.  And 
those  who  think  the  Church  has  moved  slowly,  if  at 
all,  should  have  walked  with  her  for  the  past  sixty 
years. 

"In  one  way  and  another,  I  have  been  connected 
with  every  advanced  movement  made  in  and  by  the 
Church  during  the  past  threescore  years ;  not  in  the 
lead,  but  in  the  rank  and  file.  And  now  last,  but  not 
least,  I  am  received  as  a  member  of  the  Young  Peo- 
ple's Junior  society.  There  is  an  old  adage  which 
says,  'Twice  a  child,  and  once  a  maiL'  In  my  first 
childhood  I  had  no  such  connection  because  there  was 
no  such  society ;  but  it  has  come  in  my  second  child- 
hood, so  that,  in  the  race  of  life,  I  am  not  so  far  be- 
hind. 

"But  the  tables  have  turned — maybe  in  some  re- 
spects a  little  too  much.  Not  that  we  should  have 
any  less  culture,  but  a  great  deal  more  experience — 
more  of  the  joy,  peace,  and  comfort  that  come  in 
connection  with  a  personal,  conscious  knowledge  that 
we  are  saved.  Christ's  religion  is  the  only  religion 
that  comes  within  the  realm  of  conscious  experience. 
But  the  history  of  past  ages  teaches  us  that  one  ex- 
treme is  almost  certain  to  follow  another,  so  that  it 
is  difficult  to  stand  on  middle  ground.  The  sensibili- 
ties are  as  much  the  gift  of  God  as  the  intellect.  Both 
are  given  us  to  be  used.     This  is  as  true  in  religion 


388  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

as  it  is  in  anything  else.  A  religion  that  dwells  in 
the  intellect  alone  is  incomplete.  So,  also,  is  a  re- 
ligion that  dwells  in  the  sensibilities  alone.  The 
religion  revealed  to  us  in  the  Holy  Scriptures  is  in- 
tended for  the  whole  man.  Under  its  divine  influ- 
ence and  control,  the  intellect,  the  will,  and  the  sensi- 
bilities will  move  in  complete  harmony  with  each 
other  and  the  will  of  God. 

"But  a  change  has  come  over  me  personally.  I  am 
not  what  I  was,  nor  as  I  was  a  while  ago.  I  am 
the  same  identical  Jonathan  Weaver.  I  am  neither 
a  know-nothing  nor  a  so-called  Christian  Scientist. 
I  know  something  and  am  something.  In  the  contest 
of  life,  I  have  not  lost  my  conscious  identity;  but, 
from  some  cause  or  another,  I  am  not  as  I  was.  I 
remember  when  the  shadow  of  life's  tree  fell  west- 
ward. It  must  have  been  morning  then.  I  remember 
when  the  shadow  fell  northward.  It  must  have  been 
noontime  then.  But  now  it  falls  eastward,  and  it 
must  be  evening  time  now. 

"But  looking  wefetward,  despite  the  thick  foliage 
of  the  trees  that  stand  along  the  banks  of  the  river, 
I  now  and  then  catch  glimpses  of  what  seems  to  be 
a  country — a  real,  substantial  place.  These  glimpses 
come  at  all  hours,  by  day  and  by  night,  winter  and 
summer,  but  at  no  time  has  there  ever  appeared  a 
shadow  or  any  gloom.  So  I  conclude  that  they  have 
no  night  in  that  country.  I  sometimes  catch  glimpses 
of  domes,  spires,  and  towers,  but  no  monuments,  or 
anything  that  resembles  a  cemetery,  so  I  conclude 
that  there  is  no  death  over  there.     Beautiful  forms 


A  Voice  from  Beulah  Land  389 

pass  and  repass  before  my  vision,  but  they  are 
quickly  gone — just  a  glimpse,  and  they  are  gone. 

"I  turn  to  the  materialistic  skeptic  and  ask  for  an 
explanation  of  these  strange  and  yet  delightful 
glimpses.  He  says  it  is  nothing — only  a  fancy,  a 
delusion.  Death  ends  all — forever  and  ever.  I  turn 
to  the  agnostic  with  the  same  question,  and  he  says, 
'I  don't  know.'  What  shall  I  do  ?  I  cannot  go  back, 
for  it  is  evening  time  now,  and  the  sun  is  almost 
down.  Shut  in  on  all  sides,  with  only  a  step  between 
me  and  the  grave,  and  nothing  before  me  but  anni- 
hilation— eternal  nothingness.  Again,  I  ask.  What 
shall  I  do  ?  To  whom  shall  I  go  ?  Are  all  the  hopes, 
longings,  aspirations,  and  expectations  about  to  per- 
ish forever?  Wherein,  then,  lies  the  difference  be- 
tween not  beginning  to  be  and  ceasing  to  be  ?  It  vnW 
be  as  if  we  had  not  been  at  all.  Can  it  be  that  nature, 
reason,  and  consciousness  have  been  playing  false 
with  us?  Are  they  nothing  more  than  miserable 
cheats  concerning  the  most  important  and  far-reach- 
ing problem  of  human  existence  ?  Is  there  no  justice, 
love,  or  mercy  anywhere  in  the  universe?  Is  there 
no  God  other  than  one  of  cruelty  and  deception? 
The  case  is  becoming  desperate,  for  the  mists  are  be- 
ginning to  fall,  and  the  roar  of  the  ocean's  waves, 
borne  upon  the  wings  of  the  wind,  is  beginning  to  fall 
upon  the  ear.  Pity  the  sorrows  of  a  poor  old  man 
standing  within  a  step  of  eternal  nothingness ! 

"Hark !  a  voice  from  beyond  the  moon  and  stars, 
like  the  chime  of  a  thousand  silver-toned  bells,  comes 
ringing  down,   exclaiming,   'Immortality!'     In  re- 


390  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

sponse  to  that  there  come  springing  up  like  angels 
from  the  temple  of  the  heart  the  simple  words: 
'Hallelujah.  Amen  and  amen.  Immortality.'  Then 
my  glimpses  are  not  all  fancy  and  miserable  cheats, 
but  real.  If  there  is  anything  true,  anything  firm, 
anything  that  abides,  it  is  immortality — life  everlast- 
ing and  heaven.  If  from  under  the  shadow  of  life's 
evening  tree  such  glimpses  may  be  had,  how  will  it 
appear  when  the  shadows  are  all  gone,  the  clouds 
lifted,  and  the  mists  rolled  away  ?  The  half 
has  not  beem  seen  by  mortal  eyes,  the  half  is  not  now 
understood.  By  and  by  the  glass  through  which  we 
now  see  darkly  will  be  removed,  and  we  shall  see  as 
we  are  seen,  and  know  as  we  are  known. 

"My  beloved  friends  and  sojourners  with  me 
through  the  land  of  the  dead  and  dying  to  the  land 
of  the  living,  I  thank  you  for  coming  to  my  humble 
home  this  evening ;  and  she  with  whom  I  have  jour- 
neyed these  forty-five  years,  who  has  borne  her  full 
part  of  the  cares,  burdens,  and  hardships  incident  to 
the  life  of  an  itinerant  minister,  joins  with  me  in 
thanking  you  for  your  coming  here  to-night,  and  for 
the  unmistakable  tokens  of  your  kindly  feeling  and 
well  wishes  toward  us.  This  will  ever  be  an  oasis, 
coming  to  us  in  the  evening  time  of  life.  By  your 
presence,  kindly  words,  looks,  and  acts,  you  give  me 
courage  and  strength  to  say  good-by  to  the  seventy- 
sixth  mile-stone  of  my  pilgrimage  journey  without  a 
tear  or  a  sigh.  Whether  or  not  I  shall  live  on  earth 
to  pass  another  mile-stone,  I  leave  with  Him  who 
doeth  aU  things  well.     With  all  my  imperfections. 


A  Voice  from  Beulah  Land  391 

and  despite  the  failures  of  my  life,  I  am  at  peace 
with  the  world.  I  have  no  fault  to  find  with  any- 
body nor  with  anything,  except  sin.  Beloved,  in  that 
country  to  which  we  are  going  there  are  no  mile- 
stones, no  cemeteries,  no  night — just  one  never-end- 
ing day,  with  ever-increasing  delights  and  pleasures. 
Xow  we  say  good-evening — then  it  will  be  good- 
morning." 

Because  of  feeble  health,  he  was  not  able  to  attend 
the  annual  meeting  of  the  Church-Erection  and  Mis- 
sionary boards,  at  Lebanon,  Pennsylvania,  April  18, 
so  he  wrote : 

"Brethren,  beloved  in  the  Lord,  if  memory  serves 
me  correctly,  this  is  the  first  time  in  thirty-five  years 
that  I  have  failed  to  be  present  at  the  meetings  of 
the  boards.  I  did  not  surrender  the  thought  of  be- 
ing with  you  until  yesterday.  Indeed,  I  hardly  think 
that  /  surrendered  at  all.  But  the  tabernacle  in 
which  I  live,  owing  to  a  recent  heavy  storm  which  beat 
upon  it,  is  so  out  of  repair  that  it  must  be  looked 
after  at  once.  One  of  the  severest  trials  of  my  life 
is  to  be  compelled  to  remain  at  home  when  I  so  much 
desire  to  be  in  the  field.  The  joy  and  pleasure  of 
my  life  is,  and  has  been,  to  do  what  I  can  for  Him 
who  did  so  much  for  me.  A  thousand  lives  of  active 
service  would  not,  in  real  value,  pay  back  one  farth- 
ing of  the  price  he  paid  for  me. 

"The  truths  of  the  gospel  were  never  so  precious 
to  me  as  now.  There  is  an  excellency  in  the  knowl- 
edge of  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord  that  surpasses  all  other 
knowledge.    The  whole  world  should  know  the  Christ, 


392  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

and  it  is  a  part  of  our  business  to  aid  in  spreading 
abroad  the  knowledge  of  his  name.  If  it  should  please 
the  Master  to  restore  me  sufficient  strength,  there  is 
a  little  more  work  I  should  love  to  do  before  I  go 
hence.  Fifty  and  five  years  of  almost  constant  labor 
appear  to  be  such  a  trifle  as  compared  with  what  I 
have  received,  that  I  am  exceedingly  anxious  to 
do  something  more  if  I  can.  I  trust  that  I  am  not 
sectarian,  but,  for  good  and  sufficient  reasons,  I  love 
the  spirit  and  polity  of  the  United  Brethren  Church. 
Within  her  pale  I  love  to  work;  within  her  pale  I 
wish  to  finish  the  days  of  the  years  of  my  pilgrimage, 
and  from  her  pale  I  want  to  go  away  to  be  with  Him 
whom  I  have  so  imperfectly  served.  To  his  name  be 
honor  and  praise  evermore. 

"Brethren,  when  you  pray,  do  not  forget  to  men- 
tion my  name  to  the  Master. 

"Your  brother, 

"J.  Weavek." 

As  soon  as  able  to  walk  about,  he  visited  the  Pub- 
lishing House,  where  the  trustees  were  in  session, 
dropped  into  the  meeting,  and  made  a  brief,  inspiring 
address,  which  brought  tears  to  all  eyes. 

In  a  commimication  to  the  Telescope,  entitled, 
"Some  One  Please  Explain,"  he  wants  to  know 
whether  or  not  the  practice  of  evangelical  denomina- 
tions to-day  is  in  harmony  with  their  cardinal  truths. 
Is  what  we  hear  from  the  pulpit  the  gospel  of  Christ, 
pure  and  simple  ?  Is  the  service,  including  singing, 
praying,  and  preaching,  up  to  our  ideal  of  a  spiritual 
service?    In  "Here  and  There,  Now  and  Then,"  he 


A  Voice  from  Beulah  Land  393 

enforces  Paul's  teachings,  where  he  resolved  to  forget 
the  things  behind,  count  them  all  loss,  and  press  on 
for  what  there  was  before  him. 

In  June,  he  left  Dayton  for  Michigan,  to  visit  his 
children  and  to  seek  a  more  refreshing  atmosphere. 
He  writes  from  Grand  Rapids,  Michigan,  as  follows : 

''Everything  is  uncertain  with  me  now.  Tottering 
along  in  the  valley,  not  far  from  the  crossing,  one 
experiences  what  he  could  not  anticipate  while  as- 
cending or  descending  the  mountains  leading  into 
the  valley.  It  is  not  dark  and  gloomy,  as  I  thought 
it  might  be.  The  sun  still  shines  as  brightly  as  it 
did  in  the  long  ago.  Then,  too,  I  occasionally  catch 
glimpses  of  what  seems  to  be  a  silver  lining  on  the 
other  side  of  the  clouds,  over  the  valley,  the  same  as 
over  the  mountains,  but  they  are  not  any  more  threat- 
ening than  when  on  the  summit  of  life's  mountain. 
Life,  with  all  its  ten  thousand  incidents  and  details, 
is  a  mystery.  What  a  curious  thing  it  is  to  live. 
The  more  I  think  about  it  the  less  I  know  about  it. 
Thank  God  for  the  promise  of  an  endless  life.  Maybe, 
when  in  full  possession  of  that  endless  life,  under 
conditions  far  more  favorable,  we  shall  know  more 
about  it." 

A  little  later,  he  writes  again:  "I  find  that  this 
house  in  which  I  have  lived  for  seventy-six  years  is 
quite  out  of  repair,  and,  so  far  as  I  can  see  and  under- 
stand, it  is  not  the  purpose  of  the  Builder  to  put  any 
more  substantial  repairs  upon  it.  But  he  has  more 
than  intimated  to  me  (through  his  Word)  that  he 
will  some  time  change  it  so  that  it  will  be  better  than 


394  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

it  ever  was.  I  am  trying  to  be  patient  and  contented 
with  mj  lot,  though  there  is  not  an  hour,  and  has  not 
been  for  six  months,  that  I  felt  well,  much  of  the  time 
being  real  sick." 

In  August  appeared  his  "Christian  Theology."  It 
had  been  written  in  more  condensed  form  some  years 
before,  but  was  now  thoroughly  reviewed  and  en- 
larged, and  is  his  last,  and  one  of  his  most  important 
contributions  to  the  literature  of  the  Church.  About 
the  same  time,  he  returned  from  Michigan,  with  his 
health  but  little  improved. 

He  held  Lower  Wabash  Conference  in  Olney,  Illi- 
nois, September  5.  He  was  in  feeble  health,  but  able 
to  preach  on  Sabbath  and  conduct  ordination  services. 
He  had  held  this  conference  for  the  first  time  about 
thirty-five  years  before,  at  Parkersburg,  Illinois,  just 
eleven  miles  south  of  Olney. 

Following  this,  came  Illinois  Conference,  near  New 
Philadelphia,  on  September  12.  The  writer  reached 
conference  on  Friday,  September  14.  Bishop  Weaver 
was  very  feeble;  he  had  had  a  sick  spell  the  day 
before.  He  was  too  unwell  to  have  left  home,  but  he 
said  he  did  not  like  to  quit  work.  During  one  of  the 
sessions  he  said : 

"Brethren,  how  can  you  go  forth  without  divine 
help?  You  are  going  out  as  Christ's  shepherds,  his 
teachers.  Can  you  go  out  and  about  your  work  and 
spend  a  whole  year  without  any  souls  ?  You  do  not 
need  to  do  so  if  you  go  with  God's  help.  ISTow  I  want 
a  season  of  prayer — half  a  dozen  of  you  at  once  kneel- 
ing.    You  do  not  need  to  pray  all  over  the  work. 


A  Voice  from  Beulah  Land  395 

What  do  you  need  now?  Gather  all  you  have  and 
put  all  on  the  altar.  We  talk  much  of  the  old  land- 
marks. I  think  we  need  to  make  some  changes,  but 
we  must  not  rely  too  much  on  method.  Above  all 
methods,  we  need  the  influence  of  the  Spirit. 

"Preachers  should  have  a  rich  experience,  and  put 
more  of  it  into  their  sermons.  When  Paul  was  ar- 
rested, he  did  little  more  than  tell  his  experience. 
The  eyes  of  all  will  be  upon  you,  young  men.  Do 
not  be  'dudish,'  I  would  advise  you,  but  dress 
like  a  minister.  No  matter  how  cheaply  you  dress, 
be  clean  and  neat ;  keep  your  face  clean,  your  hands, 
your  hair.  Be  modest,  unassuming,  but  be  social. 
Keep  your  sociability  within  proper  bounds,  and  do 
not  let  it  slop  over.  The  proper  reading  of  Scripture 
is  very  important.  Study  to  put  the  emphasis  where 
it  belongs.  Some  read  very  rapidly,  in  order  to  get 
through.  Study  how  to  read  it  properly.  Watch  your 
demeanor  in  the  pulpit.  Some  persons  stand  like 
a  block  with  no  inspiration  to  them.  Others  rant,  run 
across  the  platform,  smite  with  their  hands,  and 
stamp  with  their  feet.  Take  the  average,  and  be  not 
too  boisterous. 

"There  are  no  truths  in  the  universe  that  will  hold 
men  like  the  gospel.  Some  seek  to  discuss  abstract 
or  metaphysical  questions,  and  when  done  the  people 
will  say  it  was  nice,  but  that  is  the  end  of  it.  I  have 
talked  with  our  best  men,  and  they  say.  When  we 
go  to  church  we  want  to  hear  a  sermon,  and  not  a 
lecture.  When  we  want  to  hear  the  latter,  we  go 
where  we  can  get  it.    A  good  sermon  must  have  Christ 


396  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

in  it.  It  will  take  all  of  your  life  to  preach  all  there 
is  in  one  little  adverb,  'so' — 'God  so  loved  the  world.' 
How  long  will  it  take  you  to  find  out  that  the  gospel 
includes  all  there  is  that  is  pure  and  good  in  the  uni- 
verse ?  Do  you  want  to  preach  on  astronomy  ?  Go 
over  to  the  Psalms,  and  you  can  easily  find  a  text 
where  God  is  recognized.  On  botany?  'Consider 
the  lilies.'  On  geology  ?  'Their  rock  is  not  as  our 
rock.'  On  the  wind  ?  'The  wind  bloweth  where  it 
listeth.'  You  can  find  Christ  in  all  of  these.  So 
preach  every  sermon  that  people  will  go  away  hav- 
ing heard  of  the  cross  of  Christ, 

"To  those  of  you  who  live  in  towns,  please  appear 
on  the  streets  like  a  preacher.  Don't  sit  on  store-boxes 
and  whittle.  That  is  very  poor  business  for  a 
preacher.  Be  modest,  upright,  a  man,  a  preacher. 
Some  preachers  talk  too  much.  When  you  make  a 
pastoral  visit,  remember  it  is  different  from  a  social 
visit.  A  pastoral  visit  should  not  be  over  fifteen  min- 
utes in  length.  Exercise  good  sense.  If  the  family 
is  busy,  call  again.  Don't  pass  the  door  of  the  poor. 
It  is  a  crime  to  treat  them  coldly.  Finally,  seek  for 
and  obtain  a  deep  spirituality.  Study  on  your  knees, 
and  learn  the  value  of  the  closet  life.  Go  out  with 
your  heart  and  mind  and  soul  determined  on  this  one 
thing,  'I  must  win  souls  to  Christ  this  year.'  Let  this 
be  the  chief  aim  this  year.  I  have  been  coming  to 
you  for  thirty-five  years.  I  have  been  in  the  field 
for  fifty-five  years.  Some  say  I  should  return,  but  I 
think  I  should  give  the  place  to  some  one  who  can 
do  better  work.    I  want  to  stay  in  the  field  until  the 


A  Voice  from  Beulah  Land  397 

sun  goes  down.  Let  me  have  a  little  comer,  where  I 
can  sav  ^Amen'  to  your  work.  Some  bright  morning, 
some  glad  day,  when  conferences  are  all  over  and  the 
work  all  done,  we  shall  meet  again.  What  would 
I  do  if  death  ended  all? — a  step  or  two,  and  then 
drop  into  everlasting  nothingness.  The  evening 
would  be  as  dark  as  Egjpt.  It  is  evening  with  me 
now.  The  shadows  are  growing,  but  through  the 
deep  foliage  I  once  in  a  while  get  a  glimpse  of  a. 
country  beyond  this.  I  cannot  hold  it  long,  for  it 
is  only  a  glimpse.  Beyond  the  region  of  storms  and 
clouds  there  is  another  country.  I  cannot  now  say 
more.     God  bless  you  abundantly." 

He  sat  down  overcome  with  the  effort,  and  the  con- 
gregation sang,  "How  sweet  it  will  be  in  that  beau- 
tiful land." 

Just  before  the  reading  of  the  report  of  the  station- 
ing committee,  he  made  a  few  appropriate  remarks: 
"Brethren,  you  cannot  all  get  the  places  you  want. 
We  tried  to  give  each  one  of  you  the  best  fields,  but 
there  were  not  enough  to  go  round.  If  you  get  a  hard 
field,  make  it  the  best  field  this  year.  Ezekiel  once 
attended  a  conference  where  there  were  only  two 
members  present.  The  committee  sent  him  to  'Dry 
Bones  Circuit.'  Some  of  you  may  think  you  have 
such  a  field.  Ezekiel  had  no  appropriation  made  to 
him.  There  was  no  missionary  society  behind  him ; 
but  he  went  and  looked  at  his  field.  There  did  not 
seem  to  be  much  prospect  of  success,  but  the  Lord 
told  him  to  preach,  and  gave  him  a  message.  He 
faithfully  did  the  work,  and  it  was  not  long  until 


398  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

there  was  a  movement  in  this  dead  valley,  and  these 
bones  were  each  seeking  their  fellows,  and  in  a  little 
time  a  mass  of  living  beings  stood  before  him.  His 
work  had  been  a  success.  If  the  Lord  sends  you  to 
'Dry  Bones  Circuit,'  go  and  do  your  duty,  and  he 
who  blessed  Ezekiel  will  bless  you  and  direct  yoai." 
This  was  the  last  address  he  ever  made  at  an  annual 
conference. 

He  was  too  miserable  and  too  feeble  to  venture 
out  and  speak  to  the  people  on  Sabbath,  as  the  day 
was  quite  blustery.  At  his  request,  the  writer  tried 
to  talk  for  him.  He  had  a  little  talk  with  him  in 
the  evening,  and  told  him  how  he  enjoyed  work. 
^'Yee,"  the  bishop  answered,  "and  I  do  too.  I  do 
not  like  to  quit  work.  It  has  been  the  joy  of  my 
life."  He  started  home  on  Monday  morning,  hoping 
to  rest  a  little,  in  order  to  meet  the  Michigan  Con- 
ference, which  convened  on  October  11.  He  was 
not  able  to  be  present,  and  W.  M.  Weekley  acted  as 
his  substitute.  The  year  closed  with  articles  from 
his  pen  on  "Whither  Bound?"  "Eevivals,"  "Twenty 
Thousand  and  Upwards,"  and  "A  Greeting  to  the 
Twentieth  Century."  It  was  evident  his  days  of  work 
were  well-nigh  numbered. 

For  the  last  ten  or  a  dozen  years  of  his  life,  the 
bishop  was  greatly  afflicted  with  some  disease  of  the 
stomach.  The  doctors  who  examined  him  professed 
not  to  be  able  to  tell  its  precise  nature.  He  was  ac- 
customed to  say  that  if  he  could  only  secure  a  new 
stomach,  he  would  be  good  for  many  years*  work. 
The  trouble  may  have  been  occasioned  in  part  by 


A  Voice  from  Beulah  Land  399 

irregular  and  improper  eating;  in  part  by  the  too 
frequent  use  of  strong  medicines,  but,  whatever  the 
cause,  the  trouble  grew  as  years  advanced,  and,  by 
degrees,  gradually  unfitted  him  for  work.  At  first 
these  paroxysms  of  pain  would  come  on  once  a  week, 
and,  when  over,  there  would  be  a  few  days  of  rest. 
Later,  they  came  every  day,  and,  while  the  pain  would 
measurably  cease,  the  prostration  that  followed  would 
continue  meet  of  the  day. 

During  the  last  three  montbs  of  his  life,  the  writer 
visited  him  frequently  to  talk  with  him  concerning 
his  earlier  life.  During  much  of  this  time  he  found 
him  in  bed,  with  some  paper,  a  slate,  and  a  pencil 
tied  to  it.  His  desire  to  write  clung  to  him  to  the 
last.  When  the  pain  had  subsided,  and  a  thought 
would  come  to  him,  down  it  went  on  his  paper.  It 
was  hard  to  get  much  information,  as  the  memory 
was  also  failing,  and  the  few  items  gathered  had  to 
be  filled  in  as  they  would  most  appropriately  join 
together.  At  times,  he  was  more  or  less  under 
the  influence  of  opiates,  to  relieve  his  excruciating 
pain. 

One  day,  he  was  a  little  brighter,  and,  speaking  of 
himself,  he  said :  "Sometimes  I  get  a  little  discour- 
aged. A  very  little  thing  will  turn  the  tide  either 
way.  I  sometimes  think  I  should  like  to  live  a  little 
longer,  as  there  are  a  few  more  things  I  should  like 
to  do.  When  I  look  back  over  my  past  life,  I  do  not 
seem  to  have  done  much.  When  I  was  in  the  midst 
of  its  affairs  they  seemed  very  important,  but  now 
that  they   are   all   over,   they   don't   seem   to   have 


400  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

amounted  to  much.  I  try  to  be  patient,  however,  and 
submit  to  whatever  the  Master  thinks  best." 

The  writer  said  to  him,  one  day,  "Have  you  kept 
any  copies  of  letters  written  to  others,  or  preserved 
any  that  you  have  received  ?"  "No,"  he  answered, 
"I  soon  found  they  were  in  the  way  of  my  moving, 
and  then  they  did  not,  at  the  time,  seem  very  im- 
portant. Many  of  them  were  mostly  local,  and  I 
threw  them  away.  Some,  no  one  saw  but  myself. 
They  were  abuses,  and  I  did  not  want  any  one  to  see 
them."  Again,  I  said  to  him,  "If  you  had  known 
that  you  would  have  been  a  bishop  in  the  Church  for 
thirty-five  years,  you  would  doubtless  have  kept  a 
fuller  record  of  your  life  and  work  ?"  "Yes,  possibly 
I  should,  but  I  never  thought  of  anything  of  this 
kind.  We  do  not  know  in  time  what  is  the  best  thing 
for  us  to  do." 

One  day,  the  writer  met  him  and  said,  "Do  you  feel 
any  better  to-day?"  "No,  I  cannot  say  that  I  do. 
I  seem  to  be  gradually  growing  weaker.  The  fight 
is  going  against  me,  and  there  can  be  but  one  end  to 
the  struggle."  And  so  there  could.  The  wheels  were 
soon  to  stop. 

Probably  one  of  the  last,  if  not  the  last  letter  he 
wrote  was  to  his  friend,  John  Dodds,  who  had  also 
been  seriously  sick:  "Allow  me  to  congratulate  you 
on  the  result  of  your  election.  Not  that  you  cared 
so  much  about  it,  but  I  wanted  you  to  be  elected 
whether  you  went  or  not.  As  for  myself,  I  have  but 
little  hope  of  getting  there.  I  am  very  sick,  nearly 
every  hour.     I  realize  that  I  am  going  down  a  little 


A  Voice  from  Beulah  Land  401 

«very  day;  but  the  dear  Master  will  do  everything 
right,  so  I  am  trying  to  leave  it  all  with  him,  and  to 
be  patient.  I  cannot  \vrit€  more  to-day.  God  ble3s 
you  all." 

On  Sabbath  afternoon,  February  3,  1901,  he  was 
taken  worse.  He  said  to  his  pastor,  Rev.  J.  G.  Huber, 
who  soon  came  in,  "I  think  I  am  dying."  Some 
passages  of  scripture  were  repeated  to  him,  which 
he  greatly  enjoyed.  He  gave  an  affectionate  fare- 
well to  his  wife,  and  children  and  grandchildren  who 
were  present.  When  asked  if  he  had  any  message 
to  leave  to  the  Church,  he  answered:  "I  have  not 
a  doubt  as  to  the  truth  of  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ 
I  believed  what  I  preached.  I  preached  what  I  be- 
lieved. I  die  in  the  faith  of  the  gospel  I  preached. 
Jesus  Christ  is  all  and  in  all.  Tell  the  Church  never 
to  depart  from  the  doctrine  held  by  the  fathers,  that 
a  vital  union  with  Jesus  Christ  is  essential  to  Chris- 
tian life."  To  a  friend  who  entered  the  room  he 
said :  "I  don't  think  it  is  wrong  that  I  should  feel 
tender  and  sorrowful  on  account  of  my  family !  I  do 
not  know  what  the  Master  has  for  me.  He  is  leading 
me  in  strange  ways.  I  am  following  where  he  leads. 
I  love  to  follow  him,  even  though  he  leads  me  through 
the  dark  valley.  I  love  to  follow  him  always  and 
forever.  I  shall  soon  see  the  King  in  his  beauty.  I 
feel  perfectly  safe." 

His  strength  gradually  went  down,  and  from  this 
time  on  he  had  but  few  moments  of  consciousness. 
The  end  came  Wednesday  morning,  February  6,  at 
5 :  20  o'clock.     The  funeral  occurred  from  the  Oak 


402  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

Street  Church,  of  which  he  was  a  member,  Fridajr 
afternoon,  February  8.  It  was  probably  one  of  the 
largest  and  most  noted  ever  held  in  the  history  of  the 
denomination.  The  announcement  of  his  death, 
brought  together  an  immense  gathering  of  sorrowing- 
friends  from  this  city  and  other  places,  far  and  near^ 
to  pay  the  last  tribute  of  respect  to  the  memory  of 
this  great  spiritual  leader  of  our  Church.  The  church 
was  crowded  with  people  and  friends,  anxious  to  pay 
the  last  tribute  of  respect  to  this  honored  saint  of  God» 
Invocation  was  offered  by  Dr.  G.  M.  Mathews ;  Scrip- 
ture  read  by  Dr.  I.  L.  Kephart ;  prayer  by  Dr.  D.  W. 
Sprinkle,  of  Bishop  Weaver's  own  conference;  brief 
addresses  by  Dr.  W.  K.  Funk,  Bishops  Kephart,  Hott^ 
and  Mills ,  by  Dr.  McKee  and  the  pastor,  Rev.  J.  G. 
Huber.  The  musical  selections  were  such  as  had  been 
sung  during  his  illness  and  around  his  death-bed.  The 
services  lasted  about  two  hours,  and  the  people  were 
eager  to  catch  every  word  uttered.  The  procession 
to  Woodland  Cemetery  was  unusually  large.  Many 
stood  with  uncovered  heads  as  the  loved  form  of  the 
bishop  was  lowered  into  the  grave,  and  as  Bishop  Kep- 
hart read  the  burial  formula  of  the  Church.  The 
sainted  bishop  now  rests  a  few  feet  from  his  distin- 
guished associate  and  friend.  Bishop  Edwards,  where 
they  shall  sleep  in  peace  until  the  resurrection  morn- 
ing. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

How  Men  Will  Think  of  Him. 

As  WE  come,  in  this  last  chapter,  to  gather  up  in 
systematic  order  some  of  the  more  salient  points  in 
the  life  and  character  of  Bishop  Weaver,  we  have  no 
desire  to  indulge  in  any  fulsome  eulogy,  but  to  ex- 
press, in  plain  language,  some  of  the  traits  which 
revealed  him  to  men,  and  made  them  love  him,  and 
by  which  we  think  the  Church  of  the  future  will  esti- 
mate him.  He  needs  no  such  empty  eulogy,  and 
would  be  the  last  man  to  seek  it.  He  had  his  weak- 
nesses as  well  as  his  strong  points,  and  none  knew 
them  better  than  himself.  What  shaU  we  think  of 
him  as  a  man  ? 

AS    A    MAN. 

1.  In  his  field,  he  was  essentially  a  great  man — 
perhaps  the  greatest  the  Church  has  produced  in  the 
last  half-century.  He  was  not  a  product  of  the 
schools,  but  of  the  talents  which  God  gave  him,  and 
which  were  developed  under  the  pressure  of  poverty 
and  a  sense  of  his  obligations  to  God.  What  he  was 
so  far  as  external  surroundings  were  concerned,  the 
Church  made  him,  and  he,  in  return,  in  good  part, 
made  the  Church.  His  history  is  a  history,  really, 
of  the  progress  of  the  Church.  When  he  came  into 
it,  a  mere  boy,  it  had  a  membership,  widely  scattered. 


404:  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

of  some  twenty  thousand  communicants.  Its  colleges, 
its  Publishing  House,  its  missionary  boards,  its  Sun- 
day-school association,  all  its  departments  for  more 
efficient  church  work  have  come  into  being  since  his 
connection  with  it.  Some  of  them  he  has  originated, 
and  to  all  he  has  been  a  fast  friend,  aiding  them  by 
the  very  best  thought  of  his  busy  brain.  Well  may 
the  faculty  of  Union  Biblical  Seminary  say,  "He  has 
been  one  of  its  warmest  and  strongest  friends ;  theo- 
logical education  in  our  Church  has  been  bereft  of 
one  of  its  earliest  advocates  and  promoters."  For 
years  he  has  been  the  efficient  president  of  the  Board 
of  Missions,  never  missing  a  session,  except  the  last, 
when  too  feeble  to  go.  How  his  voice  has  cheered  the 
toilers  in  the  educational  field ;  how  his  cheery  letters 
have  given  new  inspiration  to  the  men  who  furnished 
a  Church  literature!  But  why  particularize  ?  Not  a 
department  of  Church  work  to-day  which  has  not  felt 
the  inspiration  of  his  spirit  and  the  contagion  of  his 
example. 

2.  He  was  a  man  of  warm  and  sympathetic  heart. 
Years  ago,  Bishop  Edwards  found  some  religious  dis- 
turbances in  the  bounds  of  the  Walla  Walla,  now  the 
Columbia  River  Conference.  Bishop  Weaver  was  the 
next  bishop  to  visit  them.  While  there,  he  received 
word  that  the  Missionary  Board  had  dissolved  the 
conference  and  converted  it  into  a  missionary  district, 
which  virtually  gave  the  bishop  plenary  powers  in 
the  disposing  of  it.  Says  one  who  was  present,  "The 
so-called  fanatics  took  quite  a  dislike  to  him ;  but  his 
kind  and  noble  bearing,  his  most  loving  humility, 


How  Men  Will  Think  of  Him  405 

together  with  his  indescribably  good  sermons  and  pub- 
lic speeches,  perfectly  captured  us ;  so,  though  out  of 
about  twenty  preachers,  he  employed  only  two,  and 
sent  the  rest  all  home,  he  still  carried  the  love  and 
esteem  of  every  one  of  us  back  East  with  him." 

A  friend  gave  this  little  picture  of  him :  Standing 
in  a  depot  with  a  friend,  in  a  western  State,  one  day, 
he  picked  up  a  five-dollar  bill  which  some  one  had 
lost.  He  sought  for  an  owner,  but  could  find  none. 
Bishop  Weaver  said  he  wished  the  owner  had  it,  for 
that  very  loss  might  defeat  his  journey.  As  the  de- 
parting train  backed  in,  the  conductor  came  back  mak- 
ing inquiry,  saying  that  a  poor  woman  had  lost  her 
money,  and  he  came  back  to  see  if  he  could  find  it. 
After  passing  it  over,  the  bishop  said :  "That  's  my 
idea  of  business  life.  People  should  do  all  that  is 
reasonable  to  help  each  other  through  this  crooked 
world."  He  thanked  the  conductor  for  the  trouble 
he  had  taken,  for  the  woman  could  not  have  made  her 
trip  without  it.  He  was  not  a  man  of  giant  intellect, 
but  he  was  a  man  of  great  depth  of  feeling.  This 
was  seen  in  his  daily  life,  in  his  public  preaching,  and 
in  his  labors  as  a  bishop  in  the  Church.  He  came 
from  the  ranks  of  the  common  people,  whom  he  loved. 
He  was  not  an  aristocrat,  but  a  born  democrat.  He 
came  in  close  touch  with  his  fellow-men.  If  he  said 
anything  severe,  it  was  done  with  such  a  pleasant 
smile  that  it  took  away  much  of  its  power  to  hurt. 
During  the  Church  troubles,  when  men  were  saying 
hard  things  of  him,  calling  him  traitor  and  deceiver, 
and  characterizing  him  by  other  slanderous  epithets, 


406  Biograpfiy  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

he  said  nothing  unkind  in  return.  The  letters  he  re- 
ceived charging  him  with  unkind  things,  of  which  he 
Avas  entirely  innocent,  he  burned,  that  no  one  but 
himself  might  know  who  wrot«  them.  His  kindliness 
of  manner  opened  the  way  for  him  into  other  human 
hearts.  Wherever  he  went  men  admired  him  for  his 
ability  and  respected  him  for  his  character,  and  very 
many  of  them  loved  him  because  he  loved  them  and 
manifested  a  kindly  disposition  toward  all.  He 
sought  daily  to  manifest  the  Saviour's  spirit,  and  how 
could  he  best  do  this  except  by  loving  all  men  ? 

3.  He  was  careful  of  both  his  character  and  repu- 
tation. He  was  not  a  reckless  man,  who  would  take 
unnecessary  risks.  He  knew  that  as  a  man  of  God  he 
must  take  heed  to  his  ways,  and  not  allow  his  good  to 
be  evil  spoken  of.  He  never  stood  so  near  the  divid- 
ing line  between  what  was  proper  and  what  was  not, 
that  men  were  not  sure  where  to  find  him.  What 
he  practiced  himself  he  always  commended  to  others, 
as  opportunity  presented  itself.  How  often  have  we 
listened  to  his  earnest  words  to  young  ministers,  ad- 
monishing them  that  on  the  street,  in  the  social  circle, 
everywhere,  their  conduct  should  be  such  as  becomes 
those  who  are  God's  representatives. 

4.  He  could  skillfully  adapt  himself  to  all  per- 
sons, as  well  as  all  occasions.  There  was  a  proper 
dignity  which  he  observed,  but  an  utter  absence  of 
pomposity  or  any  attempt  at  self-glorification.  True 
greatness  in  the  man  did  not  consist  in  the  accessories 
of  wealth,  family,  or  position,  but  in  moral  grandeur. 
Thus  he  estimated  manhood  at  what  it  was  worth. 


How  Men  Will  Think  of  Him  407 

He  saw  geoierous  manhood  in  the  son  of  toil,  who  was 
dark  with  dust  from  the  furnace,  provided  he  sought 
to  faithfully  follow  his  Master,  as  well  as  in  the  man 
whose  position  seemed  to  win  for  him  the  notice  of 
his  fellows.  There  is  no  need  for  any  false  abase- 
ment, such  as  Uriah  Heep  manifested,  nor  for  any 
glorification  of  those  whom  fortune  has  specially  fa- 
vored. Having  a  true  and  proper  idea  of  the  value 
of  men,  he  knew  how  to  treat  each  one  as  was  becom- 
ing. He  could  fittingly  understand  what  became  the 
<xjcasion,  and  how  to  meet  it.  So  exceedingly  happy 
was  he  in  such  adaptation  that  in  General  Confer- 
-ences  he  was  selected  to  make  reply  to  greetings 
brought  by  others,  and  there  are  thousands  who  can 
testify  as  to  how  successfully  it  was  done.  He  seemed 
never  to  be  taken  by  surprise,  but,  out  of  his  full 
treasury,  always  had  something  witty,  something 
touching,  something  that  seemed  especially  designed 
for  that  moment. 

5.  He  had  the  courage  of  his  convictions.  No 
man  is  what  he  should  be  unless  he  does  have.  A 
man  has  no  need  for  mental  powers  unless  he  does 
bis  own  thinking.  If  he  is  a  man,  he  must  stand 
for  something.  In  spite  of  his  limited  training, 
Bishop  Weaver  was  a  careful,  logical  thinker.  He 
looked  the  questions  through  and  through,  gathering 
information  from  all  sources.  Having  carefully  and 
honestly  thought  out  a  conclusion,  that  was  his  con- 
clusion. It  might  not  be  the  right  one,  but  it  was 
the  best  he  had.  He  was  willing  and  anxious  to  teach 
it  to  others.    If  opposed,  he  was  ready  to  defend  it. 


408  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

If  shown  its  error,  he  would  give  it  up,  but  no  ridi- 
cule could  drive  him  from  his  position. 

In  his  earlier  years,  he  had  thought  out  and  pub- 
lished a  vigorous  protest  against  freemasonry.  He 
never  changed  his  mind  as  to  its  nature;  but  there 
came  a  time  when  he  concluded  that  the  Church  waa 
not  dealing  properly  with  it.  By  its  action  it  waa 
crippling  itself,  but  not  hurting  masonry.  Through 
a  wide  experience  and  close  observation,  he  thought 
out  a  plan  of  change.  It  was  no  easy  thing  for  a 
man  high  in  official  position  to  take  such  a  step  when 
the  majority  of  those  in  authority  might  take  off 
his  official  head.  When  he  consulted  a  friend  as  ta 
the  wisdom  of  the  step  he  proposed,  the  friend  said, 
"It  is  just  the  thing  that  should  be  said,  but  don't 
you  sry  it;  it  will  kill  you."  He  did  not  consider 
his  own  relation  to  the  matter  at  all,  but  having  satis- 
fied himself  it  was  the  proper  word  to  be  said,  he 
spoke  it,  and  took  the  consequences.  When  the 
Church  trials  came  on,  he  was  taunted  again  and 
again  by  having  his  early  pamphlet  thrust  in  hia 
face,  but  he  took  back  not  a  word  as  to  the  evil  he 
had  opposed.  He  had  changed  his  mind  as  to  the 
method  of  dealing  with  it  by  the  Church,  and  he  had 
the  courage  to  say  so. 

A  man  once  said  to  Mr.  Beecher,  "I  infer  you  be- 
lieve so  and  so."  Mr.  Beecher  quickly  replied: 
"There  is  no  need  of  making  any  inference  about  it. 
I  make  it  so  plain,  no  man  can  make  any  mistake  as 
to  what  T  think."  Bishop  Weaver  was,  as  we  have 
shown,  a  very  regular  and  frequent  contributor  to 


How  Men  Will  Think  of  Him  409 

the  press,  on  almost  every  variety  of  subject  He 
never  sought  to  conceal  anything,  but  opened  his  heart 
to  the  Church  he  loved  and  over  which  he  presided. 
We  knew  exactly  what  he  thought  on  almost  every 
subject  He  believed,  and  therefore  he  spoke,  and 
the  Church  has  been  blessed  by  his  utterances.  He 
sought  to  lead  it,  not  to  domineer  over  it ;  and  because 
it  trusted  his  convictions,  his  warmth  of  heart,  his 
honesty  of  purpose,  it  followed  him. 

6.  He  was  a  hopeful  man,  full  of  a  healthy  op- 
timism. In  an  article  for  the  Church  paper,  in  1887, 
he  says:  "I  cannot  see  an  inch  before  me,  but  I 
can  see  a  little  of  the  past  and  present,  and  it  seems 
to  me  that  the  brightest  day  this  world  has  ever  seen 
since  the  fall  of  man  is  already  beginning  to  dawn. 
Open  your  eyes,  open  them  wide.  Africa  is  coming 
to  God.  India  and  Greenland  are  coming.  Torches 
are  blazing  in  China,  in  Japan,  in  Turkey,  and  in 
the  islands  of  the  sea.  There  are  more  Bibles  on 
earth  to-day  than  at  any  time  in  the  past  Something 
is  coming ;  just  what  and  how  I  do  not  know.  Rail- 
roads, steamships,  the  telegraph,  telephones,  and  a 
thousand  other  agencies  and  instrumentalities  arc 
made  to  serve  the  vast  interests  of  the  Church  of 
Christ  Pulpits  are  thundering  all  along  the  line. 
Evangelists  are  hurrying  here  and  there;  some 
preaching,  some  singing,  some  doing  one  thing,  and 
some  another.  Men  right  out  of  the  gutter  are  raised 
up  by  the  process  of  grace,  and  are  going  about 
preaching  Jesus.  Women,  as  if  suddenly  inspired, 
are  hurrying  about,  talking,  preaching,  and  singing 


410  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

salvation  by  faith  in  Jesus.  Last,  but  maybe  not 
the  least,  the  Salvation  Army,  with  fife  and  drum, 
comes  marching  along  our  streets,  singing  as  they 
go,  'We  will  walk  in  the  light.'  Let  them  alone,  so 
they  win  souls  to  Christ.  Fall  in  line.  Something 
is  coming.  God  is  in  his  church  to-day.  If  you 
cannot  have  everything  just  as  you  want  it,  take  hold 
of  the  best,  and  press  forward." 

Thus,  his  nature  was  cheery  and  hopeful.  During 
the  dark  days  of  his  college  agency,  however  discour- 
aging things  may  have  seemed  to  him,  the  Church 
always  got  from  him  the  hopeful  side.  Matters  might 
look  a  little  blue,  but  we  were  fully  able  to  go  up 
and  possess  the  land.  Dark  days  never  came  to  him, 
but  that  he  could  see  how  they  could  be  darker. 
When  clouds  began  to  thicken  in  our  Church  troubles, 
he  always  kept  insisting  that  if  we  would  obey  God, 
and  do  his  will,  he  would  find  out  for  us  a  way,  and 
a  way  was  found.  Such  a  disposition  was  of  immense 
advantage  to  him  in  his  work  of  later  years,  when 
men  more  and  more  looked  to  him  for  guidance  and 
help. 

7.  He  had  an  innocent  vein  of  humor.  He  in- 
herited this  from  his  father,  but  it  was  stronger  in 
him  than  in  his  father.  It  made  him  a  very  com- 
panionable man.  Page  after  page  could  be  filled  with 
anecdotes  and  incidents  illustrating  this.  There  was 
nothing  unkind  or  unbecoming  in  his  use  of  it,  but 
it  availed  to  shed  brightness  on  the  trials  of  life,  and 
helped  him  often  thereby  to  administer  a  gentle  re- 
proof without  using  severity. 


How  Men  Will  Think  of  Him  411 

Some  years  ago,  he  held  a  session  of  Scioto  Con- 
ference, near  Circleville.  One  of  the  preachers  from 
the  hill  country,  in  the  south,  was  standing  almost  in 
front  of  the  bishop,  making  his  report,  which  he  read 
with  not  a  little  self-consciousness.  When  he  came 
to  the  conference  collections,  he  reported  eighteen 
cents  collected.  Bishop  Weaver  tapped  on  the  table 
with  his  pencil,  so  as  to  get  his  attention,  and  in- 
quired, apparently  very  seriously,  "Brother,  did  you 
get  all  that  in  cash,  or  was  part  of  it  in  trade  ?"  We 
can  imagine  the  sensations  that  pervaded  the  audi- 
ence when  the  preacher  answered,  in  all  seriousness, 
"Bishop,  I  have  it  all  in  solid  cash."  "Good  for  you, 
good  for  you !"  was  the  bishop's  reply. 

In  1879,  at  a  session  of  the  Central  Illinois  Con- 
ference, a  young  preacher  was  referred  to  a  com- 
mittee for  the  manner  in  which  he  had  been  teach- 
ing the  doctrine  of  the  higher  life,  and  the  committee 
recommended  that  the  chair  admonish  him.  Bishop 
Weaver  straightened  himself  up,  and,  after  seriously 
running  his  eye  over  the  members  of  the  committee, 
the  young  man,  and  the  audience,  said,  very  seri- 
ously, "My  dear  brethren,  I  see  only  one  way  out  of 
this  trouble,  and  that  is  for  this  young  man  to  hpld 
on  to  his  zeal  until  his  knowledge  catches  up." 

He  presided  over  the  White  Kiver  Conference  in 
1887.  The  feeling  between  the  two  wings  of  the 
Church  was  quite  strong.  Some  of  the  more  radical 
members  manifested  not  a  little  discourtesy  to  the 
bishop,  but  he  bore  it  with  a  kindly  spirit,  and,  by 
his  good  humor  and  pleasant  manner  of  meeting 


412  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

them,  showed  that  he  was  master  of  the  situation. 
An  effort  was  made  to  get  a  resolution  through  the 
conference  condemning  the  Telescope  for  selling  out 
to  the  lodge,  and  approving  the  Conservator,  In  his 
mirthful  way,  the  bishop  told  the  conference  he  was 
never  exactly  satisfied  with  the  Telescope;  there  was 
always  something  in  it  that  did  not  suit  him,  and 
he  had  about  made  up  his  mind  it  never  would  be  the 
paper  it  should  be,  until  he  became  the  editor  him- 
self. 

AS    A    PREACHER. 

He  was  a  great  preacher.  Many  of  his  hearers 
have  rated  him  next  to  Bishop  Simpson ;  not  in  schol- 
arship, for  he  made  no  pretension  to  this,  but  in  his 
understanding  of  his  theme  and  his  presentation  of 
it  with  such  warmth  of  feeling,  such  genuine  sim- 
plicity, such  entire  confidence  in  its  truthfulness,  that 
men  listened  with  admiration,  and  came  again  to  hear 
him. 

1.  He  was  thoroughly  biblical  and  always  evan- 
gelical. He  did  not  quote  Scripture  references  so 
extensively  as  did  Bishop  Glossbrenner,  many  of 
whose  sermons  were  simply  stories  of  Bible  utter- 
ances. In  his  day  men  believed  in  a  genuine  repent- 
ance, and  a  conversion  which  did  not  carry  with  it 
as  its  antecedent  a  goodly  amount  of  "godly  sorroV 
was  looked  upon  with  some  uncertainty.  To  hold  up 
one's  hand,  and  thus  indicate  that  one  wanted  to  live 
a  new  life,  was  all  good,  but  he  must  follow  it  up 
and  show  its  genuineness  by  falling  upon  his  knees 
and  pouring  out  his  soul  before  God.    In  those  days, 


How  Men  Will  Think  of  Him  413 

the  kingdom  of  heaven  suffered  violence,  ''and  the 
violent  took  it  by  force." 

So,  in  all  his  pulpit  ministrations  he  never  feared 
to  utter  "hell  to  ears  polite."  He  had  but  one  mes- 
sage, which  he  believed  with  all  his  heart,  and  which 
he  taught  to  others  with  all  the  skill  God  gave  him: 
Men  have  fallen  from  their  original  estate  and  are 
prone  to  wrong-doing;  nothing  can  bring  them  back 
again  and  fit  them  for  the  here  and  the  hereafter  but 
the  implantation  by  the  Holy  Spirit  of  a  new  life. 
This  can  be  done  only  when  a  man  repents  and  for- 
sakes his  sin  and  accepts  Christ  as  his  Saviour  and 
guide.  The  culture  of  the  schools  is  a  good  thing, 
and  all  should  have  it,  but  it  will  not  purify  our 
evil  natures  and  make  us  children  of  God,  as  the  con- 
dition of  the  cultured  nations  of  the  past  only  too 
plainly  teaches.  The  forms  and  graces  of  modern  civ- 
ilization carry  with  them  many  desirable  things,  but 
they  are  only  a  thin  veneering  to  cover  over  a  corrupt 
human  nature  which  divine  help  alone  can  purify. 
He  spoke  the  truth  kindly  and  in  love,  but  never 
sought  to  tone  down  its  teachings.  From  first  to  last 
the  atonement  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  faith 
in  him,  were  absolutely  essential  to  human  salvation. 
Nothing  had  ever  been  found  in  the  universe  of  God 
to  take  their  place.  If  he  should  preach  any  other 
gospel  he  would  be  "anathema  maranatha." 

2.  He  was  a  constant  and  diligent  student.  He 
had  no  sympathy  with  indolent  men  who  had  no  love 
for  study,  but  who,  misinterpreting  the  divine  teach- 
ing,   opened    their    mouths    and    waited    for    the 


414  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

Lord  to  fill  them;  strange  to  say,  he  seldom,  if 
ever,  did  fill  them.  Bishop  Weaver  had  tried  the 
same  process,  but  his  mouth  was  empty  until  he 
went  to  work,  with  God's  help,  to  answer  his  own 
prayers.  His  library  was  not  large,  and  yet  it  is 
surprising,  after  all,  how  many  books  he  read.  His 
effort  was  not  so  much  to  find  out  what  other  men 
said  about  the  Scriptures,  as  what  they  actually 
taught.  When  not  at  work  in  the  field,  he  was  a 
student  at  home.  He  studied  men  as  well  as  books. 
His  experience  as  a  college  agent  so  taught  him,  ac- 
cording to  his  own  statements,  that  he  about  knew 
what  was  in  a  man  as  soon  as  he  saw  him.  The  mul- 
tiplicity of  his  communications  to  the  Church  paper 
show  him  as  no  idler.  He  studied  men,  he  studied 
books,  he  studied  the  Bible,  he  studied  his  own  re- 
ligious experiences  and  the  experiences  of  others, 
and  from  all  of  these  he  gathered  a  wealth  of  knowl- 
edge that  made  him  a  power,  under  God,  in  reaching 
others. 

3.  He  presented  truth  in  a  plain  English  dress, 
using  the  simplest  words,  placing  himself  on  a  level 
with  the  most  humble  and  lowly  of  his  hearers.  He 
was  an  adept  in  the  use  of  the  simple  words  of  his 
mother  tongue.  An  eloquent  writer  forcibly  says: 
"Words  are  instruments  of  music;  an  ignorant  man 
uses  them  for  jargon;  but  when  a  master  touches 
them,  they  have  unexpected  life  and  soul.  Some 
words  sound  out  like  drums ;  some  breathe  memories 
as  sweet  as  flutes;  some  call  like  a  clarionet;  some 
shout  a  charge  like  trumpets;  some  are  as  sweet  as 


Hov3  Men  Will  Think  of  mm  415 

children's  talk;  others  rich  as  a  mother's  answering 
back.  The  words  which  have  universal  power  are 
those  that  have  been  keyed  and  chorded  in  the  great 
orchestral  chambers  of  the  human  heart.  Some 
words  touch  as  many  notes  at  a  stroke  as  when  an 
organist  strikes  ten  fingers  upon  a  keyboard.  There 
are  single  words  which  contain  life-histories,  and  to 
hear  them  spoken  is  like  the  ringing  of  chimes.  He 
who  knows  how  to  touch  and  handle  skillfully  the 
home-words  of  his  mother  tongue,  need  ask  nothing 
of  styla" 

Because  of  his  childlike  simplicity  and  his  child 
heart  the  little  children  were  his  interested  listeners. 
In  his  "Church  History"  (page  336),  Dr.  Berger 
gives  the  following  incident  as  illustrative:  He 
preached,  one  Sabbath,  in  a  Presbyterian  Church  in 
Dayton.  "An  officer  in  the  church  related  that  one 
Sunday  morning,  at  the  breakfast-table,  his  little 
daughter,  a  child  of  eight  years,  had  asked  him  who 
was  going  to  preach  that  day.  On  being  told  Bishop 
Weaver  would  preach,  she  exclaimed,  gleefully,  'Oh, 
then  I  am  going  to  stay  for  church.  I  like  to  hear 
him  preach.  I  can  understand  everything  he  says.' 
The  sermon  was  somewhat  lengthy  that  day,  and 
when  the  gentleman  had  returned  home  he  asked 
his  daughter  whether  she  did  not  get  tired  with  the 
bishop's  long  sermon.  She  replied,  'Oh,  no,  papa, 
the  sermon  was  not  at  all  long.-  The  bishop,  on  that 
day  was  in  one  of  his  best  moods,  and  the  length  of 
the  sermon  was  precisely  one  hour  and  thirteen  min- 
utes.    It  would  be  difficult,  perhaps,  to  give  higher 


416  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

praise  to  a  sermon  than  such  a  tribute  by  a  little 
child." 

4.  He  was  a  man  of  retentive  and  ready  memory. 
This  grew  out  of  his  close  observation.  What  comes 
like  a  flash  and  for  a  moment,  usually  goes  the  same 
way.  That  which  we  have  examined  and  analyzed 
until  it  becomes  a  part  of  us  usually  remains  with 
us.  What  he  once  knew  he  kept  ready  for  use,  for 
he  expected  some  time  to  draw  upon  it. 

He  trusted  this  to  so  great  an  extent  that  in  his 
later  years  it  led  him  into  peculiar  positions.  He 
does  not  seem  to  have  kept  a  record  as  to  when  and 
where  he  preached  certain  sermons,  so  trusted  his 
memory  alone.  He  would  preach  the  same  sermon 
over  and  over  to  the  same  conferences;  sometimes 
preach  the  same  sermon  to  two  successive  sessions 
of  the  same  annual  conference.  Once,  at  Wester- 
ville,  he  preached  on  the  parable  of  the  ten  virgins ; 
he  was  absent  for  some  weeks,  and  returned  and 
preached  the  same  sermon  again.  This  occurred  from 
burdening  an  active  memory  with  things  that  did  not 
belong  to  it. 

5.  He  was  a  ready  extempore  speaker.  His  train- 
ing had  all  been  in  this  direction.  He  began  when 
a  boy,  and  cultivated  the  habit.  He  began  his  work 
when  his  listeners  would  not  endure  written  sermons. 
They  would  have  done  little  good,  for  his  hearers 
were  not  adepts  in  thinking.  What  he  said  must  be 
said  simply,  and  plainly,  if  not  very  systematically, 
and  must  be  enforced  by  the  contact  of  eye  with  eye, 
and  by  the  impulses  of  a  warm  heart.      The  loud 


How  Mm  Will  Think  of  Rim  417 

*'ameii"  would  tell  him  whether  the  truth  had  taken 
hold  of  the  intellect  and  heart  of  the  hearers.  We 
have  not  been  able  to  find  any  written  sermons  among 
his  papers ;  there  are  two  or  three  lectures,  for  these 
were  written  to  be  read,  but  no  sermons.  We  are 
not  sure  that  he  wrote  any.  He  always  advised  young 
men  against  reading  in  the  pulpit.  Such  constant 
practice  gave  him  courage  to  think  on  his  feet,  and 
his  fund  of  knowledge,  elaborated  much  by  his  own 
process  of  thinking,  gave  him  matter  to  speak.  His 
sermons  show  that  he  was  not  without  a  plan,  but 
that  plan  was  held  in  mind,  and  not  committed  to 
paper.  A  clergyman  once  said  to  the  writer  that  he 
wrote  and  then  memorized  his  sermon  so  well  that  if 
a  new  subject  came  to  him  from  the  outside  he  could 
interject  it  without  losing  his  beaten  track.  Bishop 
Weaver  had  his  material  at  such  control  that,  with- 
out writing,  he  could  hold  it  in  place  as  well  as  if 
written,  and  yet  add  to  it  whatever  might  be  sug- 
gested when  the  mind  was  at  fever  heat,  or  what  was 
gathered  from  the  surrounding  circumstances. 

6.  He  was  very  skillful  in  the  use  of  illustrations. 
He  remembered  those  he  read.  He  had  so  trained 
himself  that  he  found  ne^v  ones  in  the  world  of  na- 
ture about  him,  in  the  men  he  met,  in  the  incidents 
of  daily  life.  When  he  began  to  preach  he  found 
it  the  easier  way  to  use  illustrations.  Later  years 
showed  it  was  the  more  eifective  way.  The  Scottish 
preacher,  Dr.  Guthrie,  who  was  himself  a  skillful 
user  of  them,  says,  in  substance,  if  you  want  to  carry 
a  thought  home  to  the  heart  of  the  hearer,  you  must 


418  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

wing  it  with  an  illustration.     It  seems  to  make  the 
truth  clearer,  as  well  as  more  imj)ressive. 

7.  His  nature  was  hopeful  and  cheery.  He 
wrote,  at  one  time:  ''While  God  never  intended  us 
to  be  hilarious,  he  did  intend  we  should  be  joyful,  if 
not  all  the  time,  at  least  many  times.  But  some  men 
appear  to  live  so  much  on  the  shady  side  they  hardly 
seem  to  know  there  is  a  bright  side.  It  is  well  enough 
to  look  at  a  hearse  once  in  a  while,  but  it  is  not  best 
to  be  all  the  time  in  a  funeral  procession." 

He  then  proceeds  to  illustrate  with  the  following 
incident:  "At  a  social  meeting,  where  Christians 
were  wont  to  exchange  views,  a  brother  arose  and 
gave  a  dark  picture  of  his  life.  He  had  trials,  temp- 
tations, sorrows,  afflictions,  and  a  hard  time  gener- 
ally. When  he  sat  down,  another  brother  arose  and 
said :  'I  know  what  is  the  matter  with  that  brother. 
He  lives  down  on  Complaining  Avenue.  I  lived  there 
myself  for  many  years.  The  sun  never  shone  there, 
and  I  never  heard  the  birds  sing.  Then,  too,  I  had 
chills  and  fever,  and  something  like  the  gout,  all  the 
time.  I  took  blue  mass  and  quinine,  and  all  such 
stuff,  but  got  worse  and  worse.  So  I  concluded  to 
move  up  to  Thanksgiving  Street,  and  now  I  have  been 
living  up  there  for  some  time.  The  chills,  fever, 
and  even  the  gout  are  all  gone.  My  advice  is  to 
move  up  to  our  street.  There  are  plenty  of  houses 
to  let,  and  rent  is  low  and  cheap.  On  Complaining 
Avenue  houses  are  scarce,  and  rent  is  high.'  " 

8.  He  had  an  impressive,  not  to  say  a  dramatic 
style  of  delivery.     He  had  a  profound  conviction  of 


How  Men  Will  Think  of  Him  419 

the  truth  of  God's  Word,  having  tested  it  in  his  own 
experience,  and  so  presented  it  as  a  real  thing.  In 
1886,  he  preached  before  the  ministers  of  Western 
Reserve  and  Muskingum  annual  conferences,  at  a 
joint  session  held  in  Massillon.  The  opera  house  had 
been  secured,  and  some  eighteen  hundred  were  pres- 
ent His  text  was,  "His  name  shall  be  called  Won- 
derful." One  who  heard  it  says:  "His  description 
of  the  various  scenes  in  the  life  and  death  of  Christ 
were  so  powerful  and  vivid  that  he  seemed  to  have 
perfect  control  of  the  minds  and  feelings  of  all  that 
vast  multitude.  At  times  they  were  so  moved  you 
could  not  see  a  dry  eye  in  the  house.  In  picturing 
some  act  of  Christ,  such  as  the  casting  of  the  devils 
out  of  the  man  in  the  tomb,  he  made  it  seem  so  real 
that  some  of  the  people  clapped  their  hands.  When 
describing  the  resurrection,  many  of  the  people  un- 
consciously arose  from  their  seats  and  peered  toward 
a  point  in  front  of  the  speaker,  as  though  expecting 
to  see  the  divine  Man  arise.  Many  said  that  such 
an  effective  religious  service  had  never  been  witnessed 
in  the  city  of  Massillon  before." 

In  the  winter  of  1858  or  1859,  a  revival  was  in 
progress  in  the  old  college  chapel  in  Westerville,  Ohio. 
Bishop  Weaver,  who  then  was  college  agent,  and  re- 
siding in  Westerville,  preached  one  evening.  Said 
one  who  was  present :  "During  the  sermon,  the  con- 
gregation became  so  absorbed  with  interest  that  many 
leaned  forward  in  their  seats,  with  mouths  partly 
opened,  to  catch  every  word,  and  with  eyes  fixed  on 
the  speaker  to  note  every  gesture.    I  have  heard  thou- 


420  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

sands  of  sermons,  but  never  before,  nor  since,  have 
I  seen  a  whole  congregation  so  completely  absorbed 
as  on  this  occasion.  At  its  conclusion,  when  seekers 
were  invited,  sixty  pressed  their  way  to  the  front, 
and  many  were  saved  that  night." 

He  attended  a  holiness  camp-meeting  at  Warsaw, 
Indiana,  and,  one  day,  was  asked  to  preach  to  an 
audience  of  from  three  to  four  hundred  people.  Says 
an  eye-witness:  "It  was  one  of  his  ablest  efforts. 
Saints  rejoiced  and  gave  God  the  glory.  Dr.  Foot, 
of  New  York,  a  great  man  of  God,  was  so  overcome 
with  emotion  that  he  could  not  speak  for  a  time. 
Finally  he  exclaimed,  'Blessed  man!  I  would  love 
to  put  my  arms  about  him.'  Bishop  Weaver,  over- 
hearing this,  arose  and  said,  'Doctor,  I  will  help  you,' 
and  there  these  two  men  stood  embracing  each  other, 
weeping  like  children."  Said  Dr.  Foot,  later,  "I 
have  met  but  few  divines  in  America  so  simple,  yet 
so  profound." 

In  1872,  he  preached  before  the  Auglaize  Confer- 
ence, at  a  session  held  in  Jay  City,  Indiana.  He  was 
hardly  able  to  sit  up  and  conduct  the  affairs  of  the 
conference,  yet,  at  the  urgent  request  of  the  mem- 
bers, he  consented  to  try  to  preach.  The  party  report- 
ing it  says:  "I  never  heard  him  preach  such  a  ser- 
mon before.  I  question  if  ever  a  man  secured  to 
any  greater  extent  the  attention  of  his  audience  than 
did  he  at  this  time.  The  sermon  was  one  full  of  in- 
struction, of  tenderness,  of  love,  of  exhortation,  of 
warning.  Excepting  his  bodily  health,  he  was  in  his 
best  mood   as  a  preacher.     This  conference  never 


How  Men  Will  Think  of  Him  421 

heard  a  sermon  which  made  a  more  lasting  impression 
than  did  this  one." 

At  a  session  of  one  of  his  conferences,  he  preached 
on  "Christ's  Reception  into  Glory."  Some  of  the 
people  who  were  present  said,  when  speaking  of  the 
sermon,  that  while  he  was  describing  the  ascension 
of  Jesus  they  could  almost  see  into  the  heavenly 
world. 

AS    A    BISHOP. 

He  was  elected  a  bishop  of  the  Church  in  1865, 
when  forty-one  years  of  age,  and  continued  to  hold 
this  position,  as  an  active  or  emeritus  bishop,  until 
the  day  of  his  death,  without  a  single  break.  Some 
reasons  for  such  continuous  approval  on  the  part  of 
the  Church  may  be  found  in  the  following : 

1.  He  had  a  good  knowledge  of  men.  It  has  been 
alleged,  on  the  part  of  some,  that  his  committees  were 
not  always  well  made  up ;  that  he  would  place  weak 
men  where  strong  men  should  be;  that  he  was  not 
strict  in  receiving  preachers ;  did  not  carefully  scruti- 
nize their  qualifications;  was  apt  to  conclude  that 
any  man  was  fit  to  be  licensed  who  had  been  recom- 
mended by  a  quarterly  conference. 

There  may  have  been  some  foundation  for  such  a 
charge  in  his  later  years,  when  disease  was  preying 
upon  him,  as  it  did,  more  or  less,  during  the  last 
dozen  years  of  his  life,  but  if  it  were  true,  it  was  the 
result  of  indifference,  rather  than  inability.  He  was 
a  man  of  good  observing  powers ;  a  diligent,  faithful 
student.  His  business  for  years  made  it  necessary 
to  know  men.     As  an  agent,  he  must  study  them  to 


4!i{2  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

make  a  success,  and  study  them  he  did.  The  skill 
which  he  manifested  during  the  Church  trials  shows 
that  he  properly  estimated  the  men  with  whom  he 
came  in  contact.  The  very  fact  that  he  knew  what 
was  in  men  was  one  of  the  things  that  made  him  a 
successful  preacher. 

The  bishop  and  the  writer  were,  at  one  time,  both 
trustees  of  Union  Biblical  Seminary.  It  was  in  its 
earlier  history,  when  new  plans  had  to  be  adopted 
and  new  measures  set  on  foot.  Some  new  plan  had 
been  proposed,  and  there  had  been  a  discussion  on 
both  sides.  One  brother,  prominent  in  Church  coun- 
cils, had  opposed  the  suggested  measure,  showing  the 
difficulties  to  be  encountered  in  carrying  forward  the 
proposed  plan.  Before  the  matter  was  finally  settled, 
the  board  adjourned  for  the  day.  As  the  members 
were  passing  out.  Brother  Weaver  took  the  arm  of 
the  writer,  and,  with  the  last  speech  still  in  his  mind, 
said,  in  subdued  tones,  "Did  you  ever  see  as  skillful 
a  man  as  Brother  W.  to  show  how  things  cannot  be 
done  ?"  That  one  statement  revealed  the  conservative 
nature  of  the  man. 

2.  He  had  a  peace-loving  nature.  He  was  not  a 
quarrelsome  man.  He  was  an  excellent  hand  to  ad- 
just difficulties  or  misunderstandings.  His  high 
Christian  character  and  his  pleasant  vein  of  humor 
opened  for  him  the  way  to  human  hearts.  He  never 
enjoyed  troubles  among  the  laity  or  the  preachers, 
and  did  his  best  to  allay  them.  He  found  it  necessary 
to  reprove,  but  he  did  it  in  such  a  way  as  not  to 
arouse  bitter  or  angry  feelings. 


How  Men  Will  Think  of  Rim  423 

While  attending  Walla  Walla  Conference,  at  one 
time,  there  was  not  a  little  fault-finding  with  each 
other  on  the  part  of  some  of  the  ministers.  The 
bishop  bore  it  as  long  as  he  could,  and  then,  leaving 
the  chair,  he  pulled  his  pantaloons  down  over  his 
shoes,  straightened  himself  up  to  his  full  height,  and 
said,  "Brethren,  I  don't  think  it  is  just  right  to  lay 
a  man  on  the  conference  table  and  then  carve  him  to 
pieces."  He  followed  this  with  some  well-chosen 
suggestions,  to  which  all  agreed  save  one  man,  who 
wanted  to  talk  further ;  but  he  suddenly  ceased  when 
the  bishop  said,  very  kindly,  "Brother,  please  sit 
down."  Some  one  present  remarked,  "If  I  had  to  be 
beheaded,  of  all  men  on  earth  I  should  want  the 
bishop  to  be  the  executioner,  for  it  would  be  as  near 
painless  as  possible." 

In  helping  to  adjust  some  of  the  troubles  in  this 
conference,  he  told  the  brethren  that  those  who  were 
strong  should  bear  the  infirmities  of  the  weak.  They 
must  not  "beat  the  sheep,"  even  if  they  had  gone 
astray.  A  brother  who  was  severely  criticising  those 
who  were  too  demonstrative,  said,  by  way  of  enforc- 
ing his  opinion,  "My  father  told  me  an  empty  wagon 
always  made  more  noise  than  one  loaded."  The 
bishop  interrupted  by  saying,  "Brother  John,  that 
depends  on  what  the  wagon  is  loaded  with."  Brother 
John  sat  down,  and  the  splendid  generalship  of  the 
bishop  soon  brought  about  a  fair  degree  of  harmony 
among  the  brethren. 

Eev.  George  Muth,  a  member  of  White  River  Con- 
ference, was  always  ready  to  deal  a  blow  at  secret 


424  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

societies,  whether  the  time  was  opportune  or  not. 
While  an  itinerant  was  on  the  floor  answering  the 
questions  of  the  bishop,  Muth  could  hardly  wait  ta 
make  his  accustomed  speech.  Bishop  Weaver  pre- 
sided over  this  conference  in  1877,  and  kindly  told 
Brother  Muth  he  must  wait  until  the  resolutions  came 
up,  and  then  he  could  talk.  At  the  appointed  time^ 
the  bishop  said,  "Now,  Father  Muth,  you  can  make 
your  speech."  Muth  was  nettled  that  he  had  been  de- 
layed so  long,  and  quickly  answered,  "I  '11  not  speak 
to  please  you."  "Well,"  remarked  the  bishop,  very 
tenderly,  "if  that  is  the  case,  we  will  have  to  get  along, 
without  it." 

During  the  year  1888,  after  the  election  had  been 
held,  he  felt  moved  to  write  the  following :  "Within 
a  few  days  I  have  received  a  number  of  bills  of  elec- 
tion for  delegates.  Instead  of  sending  them  to  the 
tellers  in  their  own  conferences,  they  send  them  to 
me.  What  are  the  preachers  about  on  their  fields  of 
labor?  Why  do  they  not  announce  to  the  congrega- 
tion who  these  tellers  are  ?  It  is  just  too  bad  that  min- 
isters in  charge  of  fields  of  labor  do  not  instruct  their 
members  along  these  lines.  There  are  some  men 
who  have  not  read  half  there  is  in  our  Discipline. 
Should  such  men  be  sent  to  take  charge  of  fields  of 
labor  ?  They  are  simply  fit  to  be  sent  home,  pro- 
vided some  one  could  be  sent  to  accompany  them  to 
show  them  the  way.  Am  I  wrong  in  thus  blaming 
these  ministers  ?  Somebody  is  to  be  blamed,  and  who 
is  it?  Where  ministers  are  vdde-awake,  these  bhm- 
ders  do  not  occur.     Why  mention  this?     Some  of 


How  Men  Will  Think  of  Him  425 

our  ministers  and  members  need  to  be  waked  up. 
Almost  half  our  ministers  come  to  conference  with 
imperfect  reports.  They  will  dream  around  on  their 
circuits,  stations,  or  missions  a  whole  year,  and  then 
come  to  conference,  and  for  their  lives  they  could  not 
tell  how  many  members  they  left  on  their  charge. 
Why  write  this  up  ?  Most  of  these  drony  preachers 
do  not  read  the  Telescope.  Maybe  they  do  not  take 
it." 

3.  He  was  a  progressive  man.  The  man  for  the 
times  must  not  only  hold  fast  to  the  truth  already  re- 
ceived, but  must  keep  his  mind  generously  open  to 
all  new  truth.  He  must  stand  on  solid  ground,  but 
whenever  he  finds  sure  footing  ahead  of  him  he  must 
take  a  step  in  advance.  Bishop  Weaver's  mind  was 
duly  conservative,  but  was  progressive.  He  was  not 
so  wedded  to  old  forms  and  old  ceremonies  that  he 
could  not  exchange  them  for  new  ones  that  were  bet- 
ter. He  had  no  inordinate  reverence  for  the  past. 
He  lived  in  the  present,  with  his  face  to  the  future. 
The  fathers  were  no  more  pious,  or  honest,  or  intel- 
ligent than  were  their  children.  He  believed  we 
should  do  as  they  did,  adapt  ourselves  to  our  sur- 
roundings, and  study  God's  providences  as  revealed 
to  us  to-day. 

As  a  specimen  of  his  forecast,  we  quote  the  follow- 
ing, written  in  the  fall  of  1888 :  "Shall  women 
preach  ?  must  be  settled  in  the  churches  in  the  near 
future.  Changes  in  church  polity  are  crowding  one 
upon  the  other  in  nearly  all  the  evangelical  churches. 
That  denomination  which  determines  to  hold  to  its 


420  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

polity  of  a  hundred  years  ago  will  be  left  behind  in 
the  great  struggle  to  win  this  world  to  Christ.  New 
light  on  old  truths  is  being  developed.  Problems  that 
were  seen  in  the  distance  fifty  years  ago  are  now  be- 
ing solved.  New  agencies  and  new  instrumentalities 
not  thought  of  a  while  ago,  are  being  used  to  very 
great  advantage  in  diffusing  light  and  knowledge. 
Women  are  coming  to  the  front,  and  no  power  on 
earth  can  prevent  it.  In  the  temperance  reform  they 
are  head  and  shoulders  above  the  men.  In  the  mis- 
sionary field  they  are  side  by  side  with  the  men.  In 
the  courage  to  face  danger,  and  in  the  faith  and  love 
to  make  sacrifices  for  Christ,  they  are  not  a  whit 
behind  their  brothers.  Shall  they  be  licensed  to 
preach  ?  If  not,  why  not  ?  Are  they  lacking  in  piety, 
in  zeal,  or  in  intelligence  ?  Do  the  Scriptures  for- 
bid it?  If  so,  where?  They  are  knocking  at  the 
doors  of  our  conferences,  shall  we  answer,  'Stay  out,' 
or,  'Come  in'  ?  I  am  not  a  prophet,  but  it  is  my  de- 
liberate opinion  that  the  General  Conference  which 
shall  open  the  way  to  admit  women  Into  the  minis- 
try will  go  down  to  history  loved  and  honored  by 
the  Church."  This  was  done  by  the  Conference 
which  met  the  following  year — 1889. 

4.  He  had  a  judicial  mind  and  was  a  skillful  par- 
liamentarian. He  also  had  a  kind  heart,  which  made 
him  want  to  deal  fairly  with  all.  During  the  Gen- 
eral Conference  at  Westfield,  Illinois,  ISYY,  a  ques- 
tion was  before  the  Conference,  and,  after  some  de- 
bate, it  was  moved  to  amend.  A  little  further  on, 
some  one  offered  an  amendment  to  the  amendment, 


Hem  Mm  Will  Think  of  Him  427 

and,  later  still,  another  a  substitute  for  the  whole 
proposition.  A  brother  arose  who  was  not  well  versed 
in  parliamentary  law;  he  was  a  new  man,  and  was 
now  quite  bewildered  as  to  the  situation.  Bishop 
Weaver  was  presiding  at  that  time.  The  man  was 
small  of  stature,  had  sore  eyes,  and  withal  was  quite 
diffident.  lie  said,  in  a  low  tone,  ''Mr.  Cheerman !" 
Bishop  Weaver  was  counseling  with  the  other  bishops 
about  some  matter,  and  did  not  hear  him.  He  spoke 
a  little  louder,  '*Mr.  Cheerman !"  The  third  time 
he  spoke  a  little  louder  still,  "Mr.  Cheerman!" 
Bishop  Weaver,  having  completed  his  talk,  turned  to 
the  member  and  said,  "What  is  it.  Brother  J.  ?" 
Brother  J.  answered,  "I  just  riz  up  to  know  whether 
I  was  right  in  my  mind."  This  answer  brought  down 
the  house  with  a  sort  of  impromptu  explosion.  I^ot 
so  with  the  chairman,  however.  There  was  not  the 
semblance  of  a  smile  on  his  face,  and  if  the  brother 
had  been  the  most  prominent  member  of  the  Confer- 
ence, the  bishop  could  not  have  treated  him  more 
courteously.  Rapping  for  order,  he  said,  in  a  most 
deferential  and  brotherly  tone,  "The  question. 
Brother  J.,  is" — and  then  proceeded  to  state  the 
whole  question  in  detail,  so  he  could  understand  it. 
An  official  of  the  English  Parliament  could  not  have 
done  a  more  courteous  and  brotherly  act  than  did 
the  bishop  on  this  occasion.  As  a  presiding  officer, 
it  was  his  business  to  protect  the  weakest  member 
of  the  body. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Missions,  at  West- 
field,  a  question  came  up  concerning  some  mission 


428  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

work,  and  Bishop  Weaver  being  in  the  chair,  gave 
a  certain  decision.  D.  K.  Flickinger,  the  Secretary 
of  the  Mission  Board,  did  not  want  it  that  way,  and 
so  finally  concluded  to  appeal  from  the  chair.  Bishop 
Weaver  called  Bishop  Edwards  to  take  his  place, 
while  he  went  on  the  floor  to  defend  his  action.  After 
some  discussion,  the  vote  was  taken  as  to  whether 
the  chair  should  be  sustained,  and  it  was  a  tie  vote. 
Edwards  was  perplexed,  but  had  to  make  a  decision, 
so  finally  said,  although  he  disliked  to  do  so,  "But  if 
it  was  with  my  own  mother,  I  must  decide  against 
the  chair,"  which  he  did. 

A  year  went  by,  and  another  meeting  occurred  at 
Baltimore.  Bishop  Edwards  was  in  the  chair,  and 
Bishop  Weaver  was  present,  but  too  sick  to  take  any 
active  part  in  the  proceedings.  A  similar  question 
came  up,  and  was  decided  precisely  as  Bishop  Weaver 
had  done,  one  year  before.  It  was  such  a  surprise  to 
the  bishop,  after  his  previous  experience,  that,  sick 
as  he  was,  he  managed  to  get  the  floor,  and  expressed 
his  great  pleasure  in  hearing  Bishop  Edwards  decide 
as  he  did. 

Bishop  Weaver  helped  to  make  some  needful 
changes.  It  had  been  an  old-time  custom  to  have  the 
preacher  read  his  report,  and  then  the  bishop  would 
himself  copy  it  on  his  chart.  This  caused  no  little 
delay  and  a  great  waste  of  time,  which  might  be  given 
to  more  important  business.  When  he  was  elected 
bishop,  the  plan  of  having  a  statistical  secretary  se- 
lected, who  could  copy  all  these  on  the  chart,  and  thus 
save  time  and  labor,  was  adopted.    The  other  bishops, 


How  Men  Will  Think  of  Him  429 

for  a  time,  held  on  to  the  "good  old  waj/'  but  finally 
indorsed  his  innovation. 

He  had  a  little  tilt  with  Bishop  Glossbrenner  on 
a  point  of  order.  It  was  the  custom  with  some  of 
the  bishops,  when  a  report  was  made,  and  amend- 
ments made  thereto,  to  allow  any  one  who  wished 
to  move  to  lay  the  amendment  on  the  table,  and  if 
the  vote  was  in  the  affirmative,  it  was  done.  When 
Bishop  Weaver  came  to  take  the  chair  (at  Lebanon), 
a  case  came  up,  and  he  decided  this  could  not  be  done. 
If  they  laid  the  amendment  on  the  table,  it  took  the 
whole  paper.  Bishops  Edwards  and  Glossbrenner 
finally  accepted  his  interpretation. 

Bishop  Glossbrenner  had  been  accustomed  to  re- 
ceive men  from  other  churches  who  had  not  been  or- 
dained, without  requiring  them  to  receive  ordination 
from  us.  Bishop  Weaver  felt  that  every  minister, 
either  before  coming  to  us,  or  afterwards,  should  be 
ordained  by  the  laying  on  of  hands.  At  the  West- 
field  General  Conference,  he  secured  a  change  in  our 
legislation,  requiring  that  all  henceforth  who  come 
to  us  without  ordination  shall  be  ordained. 

5.  He  possessed  a  genuine  Christian  character. 
He  followed  Paul's  advice  to  Timothy:  "Be  thou 
an  ensample  to  them  that  believe,  in  word,  in  manner 
of  life,  in  love,  in  faith,  in  purity.  .  .  .  Take 
heed  to  thyself,  and  to  thy  teaching.  Continue  in 
these  things;  for  in  doing  this  thou  shalt  save  both 
thyself  and  them  that  hear  thee.  .  .  .  Fight  the 
good  fight  of  the  faith,  lay  hold  on  the  life  eternal, 
whereunto  thou  wast  called,  and  didst  confess  the 


430  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

good  confession  in  the  sight  of  many  witnesses. 
.  .  .  Keep  the  commandment,  without  spot,  with- 
out reproach,  until  the  appearing  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ."  He  sought  to  know  and  to  do  the  Master's 
will.  He  belonged  not  to  himself,  but  to  God.  The 
gospel  which  he  preached  to  others,  he  sought  to  live 
in  his  own  life.  The  experiences  which  he  com- 
mended to  them  were  such  as  he  had  passed  through. 
He  would  put  no  burdens  on  others  which  he  was  not 
himself  willing  to  endure.  There  are  thousands  in 
the  city  where  he  lived,  and  who  witnessed  his  daily 
walk,  who  will  attest  their  belief  in  his  devoted  life. 
I^ot  but  that  he  had  weaknesses  and  imperfections,  as 
have  most  men,  but  he  held  before  him  daily  the  di- 
vine ideal,  and  faithfully  sought  to  measure  up  to  it. 
6.  He  had  faith  in  God,  in  the  gospel,  in  men,  and 
in  himself.    He 

"Never  turned  his  back,  but  marched  breast  forward ; 
Never  doubted  clouds  would  break  ; 
Never  dreamed,  thoug'h  right  were  worsted,  wrong  would 

triumph ; 
Held,  we  fall  to  rise,  are  baffled  to  fight  better, 
Sleep  to  wake." 

He  had  his  trials,  and  disappointments,  and  per- 
plexities, as  have  others,  but  he  never  speaks  as  a  dis- 
couraged man.  During  the  troublous  times  that  came 
to  the  Church,  he  never  doubted  that  if  we  sought 
divine  guidance,  we  would  be  led  into  light  Speak- 
ing as  to  the  result  of  the  election  on  the  adoption 
of  the  revised  constitution,  he  says:  "There  never 
was  a  time  in  the  history  of  any  denomination  when 


How  Men  Will  Think  of  Him  431 

every  member  was  fully  satisfied  with,  everything, 
and  no  one  need  expect  it  in  time  to  come.  The 
bright  side  of  this  question  is  that  God  is,  and  will 
be,  in  years  to  come.  If  everything  is  not  just  as 
we  want  it,  we  should  thank  God  it  is  no  worse,  and 
push  the  battle  on." 

He  related  this  statement  concerning  Frederick 
Douglass,  as  illustrating  how  we  should  be  hopeful 
and  cheerful : 

Douglass  was  in  a  community  where  the  colored 
people  met  to  talk  over  their  unfortunate  condition. 
"He  was  sad,  and  so  were  many  that  were  present 
But  in  the  midst  of  their  conversation,  an  old  colored 
woman,  who  had  more  faith  than  the  rest,  commenced 
to  clap  her  hands  and  sing  with  a  will,  composing 
the  song  as  she  went  along,  and,  at  the  end  of  each 
verse,  tlie  words  were,  'The  tighter  the  hoop  the  sooner 
it  will  burst,  glory  hallelujah !'  Mr.  Douglass  said 
he  was  ashamed  of  himself,  and  from  that  time  on 
he  labored  in  hope  and  witJi  good  cheer." 

Paul,  in  writing  to  the  Corinthian  brethren,  gives 
a  list  of  some  of  the  most  abominable  vices  of  which 
men  could  be  guilty,  and  says  that  these  "shall  not 
inherit  the  kingdom  of  God."  He  immediately  adds 
that  "such  were  some  of  you,  but  ye  were  washed, 
but  ye  were  sanctified,  but  ye  were  justified  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  in  the  Spirit  of 
our  God."  Bishop  Weaver  believed  the  gospel  was 
the  power  of  God  to  save  the  world,  and  that  no  one 
strayed  so  far  away  by  vricked  works  that  this  gospel 
could  not  r^enerate  his  heart  and  make  him  a  saint 


432  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

of  God.  This  may  have  been  one  of  the  reasons  why 
he  was  so  earnest  and  devoted  a  supporter  of  the  mis- 
sionary work.  He  knew  these  godless  people  were 
sunken  in  ignorance  and  crime,  but  the  gospel  which 
could  save  filthy  and  lascivious  Corinthians  could 
save  them. 

Kor  did  he  lose  faith  in  man.  Individual  men  de- 
ceived him.  Men  who  entered  the  ministry  with 
good  prospects  of  success  made  shipwreck  and  went 
down  in  the  swelling  waters.  He  found  designing 
men,  who  would  use  the  Church  as  a  stepping-stone 
to  power  and  their  own  personal  aggrandizement; 
but,  after  making  all  necessary  allowances,  the  great 
body  of  the  common  people  were  worthy  of  his  con- 
fidence. They  aimed  to  deal  justly  with  their  fellows. 
Many  of  them  responded  to  his  earnest  appeals  for 
better  living.  Their  homes  and  hearts  were  open  to 
him.  He  used  to  say,  smilingly,  that  he  had  but  little 
of  this  world's  goods,  but  there  were  hundreds  of 
homes  where  he  could  enter;  as  many  good  beds 
where  he  could  sleep ;  as  many  tables  where  he  could 
sit  and  eat  bountifully,  and  all  furnished  at  other 
people's  expense. 

He  trusted  himself;  not  his  scholarship,  nor  his 
own  evil  heart,  for  these  were  treacherous,  but  his  own 
honesty  of  purpose  and  disposition  to  honor  God.  In 
early  life,  God  had  called  him,  and  he  had  answered. 
He  had  committed  his  all  to  God,  and  so  he  had  led 
him.  He  had  promoted  him  from  one  position  to 
another.  He  had  blessed  his  ministry,  and  given 
him  souls  for  his  hire.     True,  he  had  led  him  in 


How  Mm  WiU  Think  of  Him  433 

deep  valleys  and  over  rough  mountains,  but  he  had 
been  protected.  God  had  called  him  to  a  work  in 
the  Church,  and  it  was  his  business  to  trust  God. 
Thus  trusting  him  and  his  gospel,  and  the  children 
he  had  made,  he  pushed  forward,  becoming  a  co- 
worker with  the  Master  in  saving  a  lost  world. 

7.  In  his  administration,  he  was  cool  and  thought- 
ful, never  acting  under  excitement.  This  was  one 
of  his  most  admirable  traits  as  a  presiding  officer.  If 
matters  became  a  little  exciting  in  conference,  he 
would  say,  "Well,  just  wait  a  little  and  let  us  look  at 
it" ;  and  he  soon  found  a  way.  He  had  a  tact  and 
skill,  which,  with  a  little  pleasantry,  soon  found  a 
way  out  of  nearly  every  difficulty.  He  had  prepared 
himself  for  his  work,  had  a  rich  and  varied  experi- 
ence to  draw  from,  and  could  adapt  himself  to  his 
surroundings.  He  was  at  times  called  on  to  make 
responses,  almost  without  a  moment's  warning,  and 
while  happier  in  his  method  at  some  times  than  at 
others,  he  was  never  confused.  Controlling  himself, 
he  could  control  his  audiences.  He  did  not  become 
excited  and  lose  his  balance  when  matters  came  to 
fever  heat,  but  a  little  pleasantry,  a  kind  word,  and 
-all  would  run  smoothly  again. 

A  little  incident  occurred  at  the  General  Confer- 
ence in  Dayton,  in  1873,  which  is  typical  of  many 
others  that  could  be  given.  The  first  week  of  the 
Conference  was  about  to  close.  It  was  Saturday  af- 
ternoon, and  some  of  the  members  residing  near  the 
eity  had  appointments  for  the  Sabbath.  One  brother 
liad  arranged  for  a  quarterly  meeting  on  that  day,  and 


434  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

was  anxious  to  get  away  promptly,  so  as  to  get  to  the- 
train  that  would  carry  him  to  his  place  of  destina- 
tion. Others  were  waiting  like  favors,  and  it  waa 
a  little  difficult  to  get  prompt  recognition.  This 
brother  had  emphasized  the  fact  two  or  three  times 
that  he  could  get  back  on  Monday  morning  within  an 
hour  after  the  Conference  resumed  work.  When  he 
had  been  excused,  and  Bishop  Weaver,  who  was  in 
the  chair,  had  announced  it,  he  then  said,  in  his  droll 
way,  "I  guess  the  General  Conference  can  get  along 
without  you  for  one  hour,  brother."  The  members 
of  the  conference  smiled. 

During  our  troubles  on  the  secrecy  question,  h& 
was  holding  a  session  of  the  Michigan  Conference^ 
which  was  understood  to  be  quite  radical.  It  was 
voted  by  the  conference,  although  the  bishop  sought 
to  dissuade  them  from  so  doing,  that  he  ask  every 
member  of  the  conference  whether  he  was  in  sym- 
pathy with  our  Discipline,  whether  he  had  enforced 
it  during  the  year,  and  would  do  so  if  employed  dur- 
ing the,  coming  year.  After  listening  to  some  flaming^ 
speeches,  the  bishop,  in  substance,  said:  "If  you 
think  this,  is  about  what  you  want,  I  will  comply 
with  your  request,  and  all  will  be  required  to  an- 
swer. You  will,  however,  not  proceed  far  until  you 
will  find  that  it  is  not  what  you  want."  Intimations 
were  made  that  probably  the  bishop  was  weakening 
on  the  vexed  question,  but  he  waited  his  turn.  The 
elders  made  their  reports,  were  asked  the  questions, 
and  then  one  of  the  circuit  preachers  was  called,  and 
made  a  good  report,  which  was  complimented  by  botK 


How  Men  Will  Think  of  Him  435 

bishop  and  elder.  When  these  special  questions  were 
put  to  him,  he  frankly  said  that  he  was  not  in  sym- 
pathy with  the  law,  had  not  enforced  it,  and  his 
elder  had  advised  him  not  to  do  so.  This  brought 
the  elder  to  his  feet,  who  said  this  was  a  "special 
case."  It  soon  developed  that  nearly  every  field  had 
a  "special  case,"  and  it  was  not  a  little  amusing  to 
watch  the  bishop's  face  as  he  put  these  questions,  and 
saw  how  men  were  falling  into  pits  prepared  for 
others. 

As  was  said  of  another,  so  we  say  of  him :  "We 
have  hardly  begun  to  understand  how  great  a  char- 
acter he  was.  !N^o  man  is  ever  rated  at  his  true  value 
while  he  is  still  in  this  body.  The  glare  of  many 
commonplaces  hides  his  virtues  or  exaggerates  his 
foibles,  but,  seen  through  the  tears  of  a  fresh  sorrow, 
his  faults  are  veiled,  and  he  becomes  for  the  hour 
the  paragon  of  excellencies.  But  as  the  days  and 
the  months  pass  away,  prejudices  and  prepossession 
alike  are  weakened,  the  illusions  of  love  and  hate  dis- 
appear, and  the  soul  of  the  really  great  nature',  clear- 
ing itself  of  all  that  was  accidental,  stands  revealed 
more  and  more,  defining  itself  in  its  true  propor- 
tions— those  which  are  destined  to  stand  and  endure 
as  characteristic  of  the  man.  There  is  a  revelation 
which  comes  to  us  when  this  mortal  puts  on  immor- 
tality, without  which  we  can  scarcely  see  our  friends 
as  they  are.  There  was  a  deep  meaning  in  the  words 
of  Jesus  to  his  friends,  ^It  is  expedient  for  you  that 
I  go  away.' " 


436  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

"He  was  a  man  cast  in  such  generous  mold 

Of  body,  brain,  and  conscience,  heart  and  soul, 
That  if  till  now  we  never  had  been  told 

Of  an  eternal  life  and  perfect  good 
Beyond  the  verge  of  this  our  mortal  space, 

Straightway  of  such  we  should  conceive  and  dare 
Believe  it  builded  in  God's  boundless  grace, 

After  this  man's  great  fashion,  high  and  fair." 


SEKMONS. 
Change  Yokes. 

[Delivered  at  Oak  Street  United  Brethren  Church,  February  12, 1888.] 

"Take  my  yoke  upon  you,  and  learn  of  me;  for 
I  am  meek  and  lowly  in  heart :  and  ye  shall  find  rest 
unto  your  souls.  For  my  yoke  is  easy,  and  my  bur- 
den is  light"  (Matt  11:  29,  30). 

For  a  number  of  evenings,  I  have  spoken  to  the  peo- 
ple here,  but  mostly  to  the  unsaved,  and  to-day  I 
want  to  talk  more  particularly  to  those  who  profess 
to  be  Christ's  disciples,  and,  if  possible,  give  some 
words  of  advice  and  instruction  to  those  who  recently 
have  started  out  in  this  blessed  cause. 

It  is  a  very  easy  matter  for  any  of  us,  the  very 
best  of  us,  to  be  mistaken.  We  often  make  mistakes. 
I  suppose  if  the  history  of  our  lives  were  closely  writ- 
ten, the  book  would  contain  more  mistakes  than  any- 
thing else — mistakes  in  judgment  and  in  acts,  of  one 
sort  and  another.  We  are  not  always  guilty  or  crim- 
inal because  we  make  mistakes,  but  it  is  on  account 
of  our  limited  knowledge.  The  apostle  has  put  it 
in  this  way,  "We  see  through  a  glass,  darkly."  We 
see  in  part,  and  only  in  part.  We  have  glimpses ;  we 
see  part  of  a  truth,  but  not  all  of  it.  We  know,  or 
may  know,  something  of  a  good  many  things,  but  the 
very  best  of  us  do  not  know  all  about  anything. 


438  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

There  is  always  something  more  to  know  about  any- 
thing, no  matter  what  it  is,  that  we  undertake  to  in- 
vestigate \  and  it  Sfeems  to  me  that  our  greatest  danger 
lies  along  this  line  where  truth  and  error  come 
very  close  together — so  close  that  often  they  really 
overlap  each  other,  so  that  we  cannot  find  just  the 
line  between  the  truth  and  error;  and  right  along 
there  we  are  most  apt  to  make  mistakes.  For  in- 
stance :  I  do  not  need  to  stand  here  and  try  to  prove 
to  you  that  you  are  a  free  agent,  that  you  have  what 
we  call  the  power  of  volition.  You  feel  that;  you 
know  that;  and  because  we  feel  it  and  know  that 
we  are  free  agents,  that  we  have  the  right  and  the 
power  to  choose  between  this  and  that,  we  sometimes 
conclude  that  we  are  out-and-out  freemen.  There- 
fore, when  we  ask  men  and  women  to  become  Chrisr 
tians,  to  accept  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  they  object, 
because  they  think  it  will  be  the  sacrifice  of  their 
freedom,  the  sacrifice  of  their  volition.  They  seem 
to  imagine  that  to  become  a  Christian  is  to  sell  out 
their  manhood  or  their  womanhood.  Now,  it  is  true 
that  we  are  in  a  sense  freemen,  that  we  have  the 
power  of  volition,  and  yet  not  one  of  us  can  claim 
absolute  freedom.  Men  that  read  this  text  read  the 
■words  of  Jesus,  for  these  are  the  words  of  Jesus. 
He  says,  "Take  my  yoke  upon  you."  They  say:  "I 
do  not  choose  to  accept  of  Christ's  propositions;  T 
do  not  choose  to  put  my  neck  under  a  yoke;  that 
would  be  sacrificing  my  freedom,  and  I  do  not  pro- 
pose to  bow  myself  and  become  thus  subject  to  an- 
other."   And  they  straighten  themselves  up  and  say. 


Change  Yokes  439 

"''See  here !  I  am  free,  and  to  become  a  Christian  is  to 
put  mj  neck  under  a  yoke."  Well,  now,  that  is  not 
what  Christ  is  talking  about  at  all.  You  miss  the 
whole  thought  of  the  Lord  Jesus  when  you  take  that 
position.  He  is  not  talking  to  you  as  though  you  were 
■absolutely  free,  for  it  is  not  so.  He  does  not  ask  you 
whether  you  wear  a  yoke  or  not ;  mind  that.  That  is 
what  you  think,  possibly,  the  Saviour  means,  but  it 
is  not  so.  Christ's  proposition,  if  properly  under- 
stood, is  simply  this,  Change  yokes.  That  puts  it 
in  a  very  different  light.  Christ's  proposition  to  you 
is  to  change  yokes.  Why,  the  very  language  of  Christ 
is,  "Take  my  yoke  upon  you" ;  and  the  reason  why 
he  advises  you  to  change  3'okes  is,  "for  my  yoke  is  easy 
and  my  burden  is  light"  compared  with  that  other 
yoke.  The  fact  is,  that  every  man  and  woman  in 
this  rodm  to-day  is  under  a  yoke — every  one;  and  it 
is  a  choice  between  yokes ;  that  is  all.  It  is  Christ's 
j-oke  or  the  devil's  yoke.  "Know  ye  not,  that  to 
whom  ye  yield  yourselves  servants  to  obey,  his  serv- 
ants ye  are,"  and  you  are  this  day  the  servants  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  or  you  are  the  servants  of  the 
wicked  one.  You  have  upon  you  this  day  Christ's 
yoke,  or  you  have  upon  you  this  day  and  now  the 
devil's  yoke,  and  Christ  wants  you  to  change  yokes. 
Put  off  that  yoke,  that  galling,  heavy  yoke,  and  take 
Christ's  yoke,  which  is  easy  compared  with  that  other 
yoke  which  you  have  been  wearing  all  these  years. 

Christian  men  and  women  do  not  always  talk  just 
as  they  ought  to  talk ;  they  are  not  always  as  careful 
as  they  ought  to  be  in  giving  expression  to  their  feel- 


44:0  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

ings.  Men  talk  about  their  Christian  life,  and,  some- 
how or  other,  there  are  Christian  men  and  Christian 
women — I  think  they  are  Christians;  I  think  they 
are  good,  but  they  are  over  on  the  shady  side 
most  of  the  time ;  and  when  they  talk  they  haver  more 
to  say  about  their  trials  and  their  troubles  and  their 
difficulties  than  about  anything  else.  Oh,  what  a 
wonderful  fight  they  do  have  to  get  on  at  all!  and 
it  is  all  about  their  troubles  and  their  crosses  and 
their  difficulties  and  hardships.  Unconverted  men 
and  women  hearing  them  conclude,  "Well,  if  it  is 
such  a  terrible  thing  to  be  a  Christian,  I  do  not  choose 
to  be  a  Christian."  You  make  the  wrong  impression 
on-  the  minds  of  those  that  are  about  you.  They  do 
not  know  how  to  analyze  this  language  of  yours ;  they 
do  not  know  what  to  make  of  it.  They  conclude  that 
it  must  be  a  terribly  hard  thing  to  be  a  Christian,  if 
it  is  such  a  fight  as  that.  N"ow,  I  want  to  tell  you, 
so  that  you  will  never  forget,  just  what  is  the  trouble 
with  you — that  is,  you  that  bave  so  much  to  say  about 
your  trials  and  crosses  and  difficulties  and  hardships. 
I  want  to  put  it  into  your  minds  and  into  your  hearts, 
so  that  you  will  never  forget  it.  I  do  not  doubt  that 
you  are  telling  the  truth  from  where  you  are.  Your 
trouble  is  not  in  the  weight  of  the  yoke;  not  in  the 
weight  of  the  burden.  Your  trouble  is  in  not  having 
the  yoke  of  Christ  on  straight.  The  yoke  is  made  to 
fit  straight,  and  if  you  get  it  on  a  little  awry,  it  will 
chafe  you;  and  if  it  feels  heavy  to  you,  and  if  it 
chafes  you  and  galls  you,  take  it  for  granted  that  your 
yoke  is  not  on  straight.    I  will  put  the  words  of  Jesus 


Change  Yokes  441 

against  the  words  of  the  whole  world,  and  when  Jesus 
says,  "My  yoke  is  easy,"  it  is  so.  Heaven  and  earth 
will  pass  away,  and  the  very  throne  of  God  fall,  if 
that  word  fails.  He  says  it  is  light,  and  so  it  is ;  and 
if  it  is  not  light  to  you,  you  have  not  got  it  on  straight. 
Now,  the  question  comes :  What  about  getting  on 
the  yoke  of  Christ  straight  ?  How  may  I  do  this  ? 
How  can  I  do  it  ?  What  does  it  imply  'I  What  does 
it  include  ?  Well,  I  will  tell  yqu.  To  put  on  th^  yoke 
of  Christ  as  it  ought  to  be  put  on  is  to  accept  of 
Christ's  religion  for  all  there  is  of  it  and  all  there 
is  in  it — the  whole  business  from  first  to  last;  and 
you  will  never  get  on  smoothly  and  pleasantly  and 
nicely  until  you  do  voluntarily  and  understandingly 
accept  of  Christ  and  his  religion  for  all  there  is  in 
it  and  for  all  there  is  of  it.  But  you  ask:  "How 
may  I  do  this  ?  How  can  I  get  to  him  ?  I  want  to 
get  there.  I  want  to  take  Christ  and  his  religion  for 
all  there  is  in  it ;  what  must  I  do  that  I  may  reach 
that  point?"  I  know  of  no  better  way;  I  know  of 
no  other  way  under  the  heavens  than  to  make  a  full, 
complete,  and  unreserved  consecration;  in  the  same 
way  and  at  the  same  time  and  at  the  same  place 
gather  up  all  you  have  and  all  you  are  and  put  it  on 
the  blessed,  sacred  altar,  and  then  leave  it  there.  But 
I  say  to  you,  it  will  cost  you  something  of  a  struggle. 
It  does  not  need  to  be  very  emotional ;  does  not  need 
to  be  very  intellectually  or  intelligently  thoughtful. 
Just  go  to  God  on  your  knees;  it  may  be  in  the 
church ;  it  may  be  in  your  chamber ;  it  may  be  on  the 
street ;  it  may  be  anywhere,  no  matter  where.    When- 


442  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

ever  you  can,  just  simply  gather  up  your  all  and  put 
it  on  the  altar,  and  leave  it  there;  that  is  the  thing 
^to  do.  The  happiest  man  or  happiest  woman  outside 
of  heaven  is  that  man  or  that  woman  who  has  all 
on  the  altar,  who  can  feel,  my  soul,  my  body,  my 
life,  my  time,  my  talent,  my  influence,  my  reputa- 
tion, my  character,  my  everything  is  on  the  altar. 
When  you  put  everything  on  the  altar,  it  will  bring 
you  into  quite  another  realm.  And  I  say  to  these 
young  Christians,  See  to  it  right  soon  that  you  gather 
up  your  little  all  and  put  it  on  the  altar,  and  that 
will  bring  you  into  another  realm. 

I  will  tell  you  where  we  are  living  most  of  the 
time — once  in  a  while  we  get  out  of  it ;  but  most  of 
the  time  we  are  living  down  on  that  low,  marshy, 
swampy  plain  called  the  plain  of  Duty.  There  is  a 
good  deal  of  chills  and  fever,  and  quite  a  good  deal 
of  ague  down  there.  It  is  not  the  place  for  us  to 
live.  It  is  the  region  of  duty;  and  I  wonder,  now, 
if  I  will  not  come  in  the  neighborhood  of  some  of 
your  experiences.  Men  and  women  do  what  they  do 
for  Christ,  usually,  because  they  feel  it  their  duty. 
They  pray  because  they  feel  it  is  their  duty  to  pray ; 
they  go  to  church  because  they  feel  it  is  their  duty  to 
go  to  church ;  they  will  talk,  once  in  a  while,  because 
they  feel  it  is  their  duty  to  speak  occasionally,  and 
they  will  sing  because  they  feel  that  it  is  their  duty 
to  sing;  and,  the  fact  is,  if  you  come  right  down  to 
the  last  analysis,  that  the  great  body  of  Christian 
men  and  women  to-day  are  on  that  line.  They  are 
doing  what  they  do  because  they  feel  it  is  their  duty. 


Change  Yokes  443 

Preachers  preach  sometimes  because  they  say  they 
feel  that  it  is  their  duty,  and  it  is  pretty  dry  preach- 
ing, too.  And  when  men  pray  simply  because  they 
feel  that  it  is  their  duty,  it  is  a  dry  prayer;  and 
the  whole  service  and  the  whole  affair  from  beginning 
to  end  is  dry.  Where  shall  we  go  to  get  out  of  that 
low  land  upon  the  table-lands,  where  we  shall  do  what 
we  do  for  God  and  his  cause  because  we  are  up  there  l 
There  is  that  heaven  on  earth — the  heaven  of  love. 
It  is  the  same  kind  that  you  will  find  up  yonder.  It 
is  that  by  which  angels  are  moved.  Jesus  did  not 
come  to  this  world  because  it  was  his  duty.  Bless 
you,  no;  he  came  to  save  us,  because  he  loved  us. 
It  was  love  that  moved  the  great  heart  of  God  to 
promise  his  Son.  It  is  love  from  beginning  to  end; 
and  that  is  precisely  where  you  and  I  ought  to  be,  and 
the  sooner  we  can  get  there  the  better  it  will  be  for 
us.  We  shall  then,  do  what  we  do  because  we  love 
to  do  it.  When  you  get  into  the  realm  of  love  you 
will  see  a  wonderful  difference  between  that  and  the 
low  land  of  duty.  At  some  time  in  your  lives  some 
of  you  may  have  been  going  along  through  a  field, 
in  summer,  and  become  very  thirsty,  and  there  was 
a  well  in  the  field,  and  a  pump ;  and  you  went  to  it 
and  took  hold  of  the  handle  and  worked  with  all  your 
might;  it  would  not  do  anything  much  but  squeak. 
If  you  could  get  a  little  water  and  prime  it,  and 
then  pump  very  hard,  you  would  get  just  a  little, 
sickly  stream  out  of  it — that  is  all  you  could  get. 
That  represents  the  Christian  that  lives  on  the  plain 
of  duty.    You  have  to  pump  and  work,  and  there  is 


444  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

not  much  when  jou  get  out  all  they  have.  But  the 
one  that  lives  in  the  realm  of  love  is  just  like  an 
ever-flowing  fountain,  just  gushing  right  out  of  the 
soul  all  the  time.  Oh,  to  serve  God  and  to  work  for 
God  because  we  love  to  is  a  heaven  on  earth !  Love 
sets  our  hearts  in  a  flame  if  we  get  into  this  realm. 
I  know  of  but  one  way  to  get  there — that  is  full, 
complete,  and  entire  consecration.  We  preach  con- 
secration, pray  consecration,  and  talk  consecration, 
but  it  is  another  thing  to  do  it  It  is  just  to  feel  that 
everything  is  on  the  blessed  altar. 

God  works  through  means.  I  do  not  say  that  he 
necessarily  does  so,  but  he  does,  nevertheless ;  that  is 
God's  way.  !N"ow,  if  you  want  God  to  help  you,  and 
if  you  want  God  tx>  hear  you  when  you  pray,  you 
must  put  everything  at  his  disposal — everything. 
God  works  through  means,  through  instrumentalities, 
and  when  you  put  everything  at  his  disposal,  God 
can  work  through  these  means  and  through  these  in- 
strumentalities and  through  these  agencies  and  get  to 
your  heart,  and  bless  you  and  help  you  and  do  you 
good.  You  have  prayed  with  all  the  soul  and  heart 
you  have,  and  yet,  some  way,  your  prayer  has  not 
been  answered ;  maybe  it  was  because  you  did  not  put 
everything  at  God's  disposal,  so  that  he  could  bring 
to  your  heart  the  relief  you  sought 

But  now,  having  put  everything  on  the  altar,  hav- 
ing put  the  yoke  of  Christ  on  properly,  what  then? 
Jesus  says,  "Ye  shall  find  rest  unto  your  souls."  And 
now  I  want  to  talk  just  a  short  time  about  this  soul 
rest    There  is  a  kind  of  paradox  here,  I  know ;  there 


Change  Yokes  445 

seems  to  be  a  kind  of  contradiction;  but,  neverthe- 
less, it  is  just  as  the  Master  said.  How  it  is  that  a 
man  or  woman  can  find  rest  imder  a  yoke,  might  be 
the  question,  but  we  know  that  there  are  such  para- 
doxes in  the  Holy  Scriptures.  Jesus  taught  us  that 
if  we  want  to  go  up  we  must  get  do%vn — "He  that 
humbleth  himself  shall  be  exalted."  The  way  to  get 
up  is  to  get  down;  the  way  to  find  soul  rest  is  to 
get  under  the  yoke  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ;  and 
under  the  yoke  of  Christ  you  will  find  a  perfect  rest 
from  condemnation.  No  man  can  rest  while  his  con- 
science troubles  him.  No  man  can  find  inner  rest 
as  long  as  he  is  conscious  that  he  is  under  condemna- 
tion ;  it  is  utterly  impossible.  We  must  be  free  from 
condemnation  before  we  can  rest  Under  the  yoke 
of  Christ  you  find  rest  from  condemnation.  Then, 
you  will  find  rest  under  the  yoke  of  Christ  from 
fear ;  that  is,  from  that  kind  of  fear  that  is  torment 
The  apostle  speaks  of  a  fear  that  is  torment  that 
makes  us  restless,  keeps  us  continually  unhappy ;  but 
under  the  yoke  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  we  shall  find 
a  perfect  rest  from  all  that  slavish  and  tormenting 
fear.  Under  the  yoke  of  Christ,  furthermore,  you 
will  find  the  rest  of  contentment.  I  think  I  ought 
to  spend  a  minute  or  two  on  this,  because  many 
Christians  trouble  themselves  and  worry  themselves 
when  there  is  no  need  of  it  We  bring*  a  great  deal 
of  wretchedness  to  our  hearts  and  to  our  homes  for 
want  of  this  spirit  of  contentment  There  is  such  a 
state.  Paul  says,  "Godliness  with  contentment  is 
great  gain."     Now,  what  godliness  without  content- 


446  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

ment  might  be,  I  do  not  know;  the  apostle  does  not 
tell  us  anything  about  it.  Indeed,  1  doubt  if  there 
can  be  such  a  thing  as  godliness  without  contentment. 
The  apostle  says,  ''Having  food  and  raiment,  let  us  be 
therewith  content" ;  and,  further,  we  are  taught  that 
in  whatever  condition  he  was  placed  he  had  learned 
to  be  content ;  so  there  is  such  a  state  of  grace — and 
now,  to  explain  it  to  you  so  that  you  do  not  get  on 
the  wrong  side  of  it.  I  do  not  mean  by  this  con- 
tentment that  we  are  simply  to  sit  down  and  do  noth- 
ing, and  thereby  try  to  bring  contentment  to  our 
souls.  I  mean  that  men  or  women  shall  do  the  very 
best  they  can  do,  the  best  they  know  how  to  do,  and 
then  it  is  their  privilege  to  be  contented  with  their 
lot,  with  the  consciousness  that  they  have  done  the 
best  they  can  do.  But  do  not  try  to  force  yourself 
into  a  state  of  contentment,  with  the  consciousness 
that  you  are  not  doing  the  best  you  know  how;  it 
only  comes  to  that  soul  that  is  in  the  line  of  doing — 
doing  this  and  doing  that,  according  to  the  very  best 
light  and  information  it  may  have.  We  reason 
wrong  all  the  time.  We  are  miserable  philosophers. 
The  fact  is,  we  are  not  worthy  the  name  of  philos- 
ophers. We  look  about  us,  and  we  are  always  look- 
ing about  us  rather  than  in,  and  we  see  along  every 
road,  almost,  persons  whose  circumstances,  we  imag- 
ine, are  ever  so  much  better  than  ours.  We  say,  "Oh, 
if  I  were  just  fixed  like  that  man,  or  like  that  woman, 
if  I  just  had  things  around  me  like  that  one  and  this 
one,  then  I  would  be  happy."  We  bring  ourselves 
to  a  state  of  disquiet  and  discontent,  because  our  sur- 


Change  Yokes  447 

roundings  are  not  as  the  surroundings  of  somebody 
else.  Now,  why  not  look  along  the  other  line  a  little, 
once  in  a  while,  and  see  if  there  are  not  those  with 
whom  we  would  not  exchange  circumstances  \  Are 
there  not  those  worse  off  still  than  we  are  l  Why,  in- 
stead of  looking  around  and  bringing  to  ourselves 
wretchedness,  because  we  imagine  somebody  else  is 
in  better  circumstances  than  we,  we  ought  to  go  on 
thanking  God  that  it  is  as  well  with  us  as  it  is*;  that 
it  is  no  worse  than  it  is.  One  cold  morning,  a 
man  was  fretting  and  worrying  himself  within  an 
inch  of  his  life,  almost,  because  he  had  no  shoes  worth 
anything,  and  no  money;  and  he  was  wretchedly 
miserable  because  of  his  circumstances,  and  ready 
to  say  that  no  man  in  this  world  has  as  hard  a  lot 
as  he  had.  While  he  was  fretting  and  worrying,  a 
team  came  along,  and  in  the  wagon  was  a  man  that 
had  no  feet  at  all;  his  feet  had  been  taken  off. 
"Well,"  he  said  to  himself,  "after  all,  I  am  better 
off  than  that  man.  If  he  had  ever  so  much  money, 
and  ever  so  many  pairs  of  shoes,  he  would  have  no 
feet  to  put  them  on.  I  would  rather  have  these  old 
shoes  and  these  feet  than  to  have  no  feet  at  all." 
Look  about  you,  friends;  things  are  almost  even  in 
this  world.  One  has  pleasure,  maybe,  in  one  way, 
and  you  can  have  it  in  some  other  way.  If  we  have 
a  mind  to  make  it  so,  we  will  come  out  about  even. 
Bless  your  life,  you  need  not  sit  down  and  fret  be- 
cause your  environments  are  not  such  as  you  would 
select.  They  are  a  thousand  times  better  than  we 
deserve :  and  we  just  ought  to  go  on  thanking  God 


448  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

day  in  and  day  out  that  we  are  as  well  circumstanced 
as  we  are.  I  say  to  you,  friends,  under  the  yoke 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  there  is  such  blessed  soul 
rest,  if  you  enter  into  it,  that  I  defy  the  circum- 
stances with  which  you  are  surrounded  to  make  you 
miserabla  They  cannot  do  it.  An  old  lady,  whose 
husband  and  children  were  all  dead,  and  who  had  not 
an  earthly  relative  that  she  knew  of,  was  very  poor 
in  this  world,  and  the  neighbors  took  pity  on  her 
finally  and  took  her  to  the  poorhouse,  and  placed  her 
in  a  little  room  by  herself.  She  was  old  and  frail 
and  feeble,  but  seemed  to  be  perfectly  contented  and 
perfectly  happy  all  the  time.  A  gentleman  who  fre- 
quently visited  the  poorhouse,  passing  along  the  hall, 
looked  into  that  little  room  where  this  old  lady  was 
lying  on  her  cot,  so  quiet  and  so  calm.  Every  once 
in  a  while  he  thought  he  noticed  a  smile  that  would 
light  up  her  old  wrinkled  face.  One  day,  he,  out  of 
curiosity,  thought  he  would  turn  in  and  talk  with 
her;  and  he  sat  down  by  her  cot,  and  said,  "I  have 
noticed  you  here  for  some  time,  and  I  have  been 
wondering  how  it  is  and  why  it  is,  with  these  sur- 
roundings, that  you  can  be  so  calm  and  so  quiet  and 
so  contented."  She  looked  up  into  his  face,  and  an 
unearthly  smile  lit  up  her  old,  wrinkled  brow,  "O 
sir,"  said  she,  "I  am  just  thinking  all  the  time  what 
a  change  it  will  be  from  the  poorhouse  to  heaven." 
Don't  you  see  that  under  the  yoke  of  Christ  there  is 
that  blessed  contentment,  that  quiet,  and  peace,  and 
contentment  that  the  environments  cannot  destroy? 
They  cannot  throw  it  off.    Bless  your  precious  lives ! 


Change  Yokes  449 

we  can  enter  it  to-day ;  we  can  find  it  to-day ;  do  the 
best  we  can,  and  then  be  contented  and  happy.  But 
Peter  presents  it  more  beautifully  than  I  could,  if 
I  were  to  study  for  a  lifetime,  and  he  presents  it  in 
such  language  that  it  seems  to  me  it  just  ought  to  fill 
our  souls.  He  says,  "Casting  all  your  care  upon 
him ;  for  he  careth  for  you." 

To  illustrate  my  thought  concerning  this  soul  rest, 
just  let  me  have  a  minute  or  two  on  this  beautiful 
text  that  Peter  gives  us.  ''Casting  all" — but  it  takes 
a  great  deal  of  faith  to  do  it ;  and  yet  there  is  a  power 
in  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  that  will  enable 
the  soul  to  do  just  this  thing — to  cast  all  its  care 
upon  Jesus ;  and  the  beauty  of  it,  it  seems  to  me,  lies 
upon  this  line,  i^ow,  there  are  some  things  that 
you  and  I  will  never  know  unless  we  learn  them  in 
the  school  of  experience.  I  do  not  care  how  fine 
schooling  you  have  had,  I  do  not  care  how  thoroughly 
you  may  have  been  instructed,  there  are  lessons  that 
no  man  or  woman  outside  of  heaven  will  learn  except 
as  they  learn  them  in  the  school  of  experience.  Let 
me  illustrate:  Perhaps  you  have  gone  to  a  neigh- 
bor's house  just  about  the  time  that  death  entered  that 
house.  Your  sympathies  were  enlisted.  You  sat 
down  with  them  and  watched  with  them,  maybe,  till 
death  had  done  its  work,  and  then  you  turned  to  the 
bereaved  ones  and  said  such  words  of  comfort  and 
consolation  as  you  could ;  and  your  sympathies  be- 
came so  much  enlisted  that  you  thought  you  felt  it 
almost  as  keenly  as  they  felt  it.  I  have  had  such 
experiences,  when  my  sympathies  were  enlisted  so 


450  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

that  I  thought  I  felt  it  as  keenly  as  they  did.  But,  see 
here!  Do  you  remember  when  death  came  to  your 
own  house,  and  you  had  to  sit  down  by  your  own 
bed,  that  there  came  to  your  heart  an  experience  that 
you  never  knew  till  then  ?  You  thought  you  knew ; 
you  did  not,  you  could  not  know  till  it  came  right  to 
your  own  door,  to  your  own  home.  I  remember, 
thirty-five  years  ago,  one  bright  Sabbath  morning,  I 
was  asked  to  preach  at  the  funeral  of  a  young  married 
lady.  She  had  been  married  only  two  or  three 
months.  She  was  a  member  of  my  congregation,  and 
I  remember  how  my  feelings  were  enlisted  in  sym- 
pathy with  that  young  husband;  so  much  so  that  it 
was  very  difficult  for  me  to  get  on  with  the  services. 
When  I  buried  that  young  wife  from  his  side,  it 
seemed  as  though  it  would  break  his  heart;  and  I 
remember  how  my  own  heart  was  all  torn,  it  seemed 
to  me,  to  shreds.  As  I  turned  away  from  that  grave, 
I  thought  I  felt  it  as  he  did;  I  thought  it  was  not 
possible  for  any  one  to  feel  it  more  than  I  did.  But, 
on  the  next  Sabbath  morning,  just  as  the  day  dawned, 
death  came  in  at  my  own  window  and  laid  his  cold 
hand  upon  my  young  wife;  and  I  sat  down  by  the 
side  of  my  own  bed  and  learned  that  morning  what 
I  never  knew  before,  what  I  never  could  have  known. 
!N'ow,  the  use  I  want  to  make  of  that  is  this :  Jesus 
knows  by  experience  what  it  is  to  live  in  this  world. 
He  has  been  here.  He  knows  all  about  it ;  and  when 
you  go  to  Jesus  to  cast  your  burden  upon  him,  you 
go  to  one  who  knows  by  experience  what  it  is  to 
live  here.     Oh,  I  wish  I  could  lead  you  this  morning 


Change  Yokes  451 

to  go  to  him,  if  you  have  a  single  trouble,  if  you  have 
a  single  sorrow,  or  a  single  grief.  Just  look  at  it; 
there  is  one  that  will  comfort  you.  The  tempter  will 
be  after  you,  directly.  Yes ;  the  tempter  will  come. 
He  will  pursue  you  with  all  vengeance;  but  when 
the  tempter  comes  you  go  and  tell  Jesus  all  about  it, 
and  if  you  listen,  the  ear  of  your  soul  will  catch  the 
blessed  answer,  '"Child,  I  know  what  sore  tempta-- 
tions  mean,  for  I  have  felt  the  same."  Grief  stirs 
your  heart ;  go  and  tell  it  to  Jesus,  and  he  will  whisper 
back  to  your  soul,  "Child,  I  know  what  sorrows  are, 
for  I  was  a  man  of  sorrows,  and  acquainted  with 
grief."  He  pressed  every  inch  of  ground  you  will 
have  to  press  between  this  and  heaven.  Peter  under- 
stood it,  and  he  said,  '*Go  and  cast  all  your  care 
upon  him,  for  he  careth  for  you."  He  has  been  here ; 
he  knows  by  experience  what  it  is  to  be  here;  and, 
therefore,  when  you  go  to  him  with  your  aching, 
troubled,  bleeding  heart,  you  go  to  one  that  is  in  full 
sympathy  with  you,  casting  all  your  cares  upon  him. 
j^ot  the  great  ones,  but  all — every  one.  Go  to  Jesus. 
I  could  not  recommend  to  you  anything  better  than 
to  do  as  John's  disciples  did.  You  remember  that 
John  was  cast  into  prison,  and  after  a  while  he  was 
beheaded ;  and  John's  disciples,  learning  that  sad 
fact,  obtained  permission,  as  I  suppose,  to  go  to  the 
prison.  At  all  events,  they  went,  and  gathered  up 
his  headless  body  and  took  it  away  and  buried  it; 
and  then  what  did  they  do?  They  went  and  told 
Jesus.  They  could  not  have  done  anything  better. 
So,  when  sorrows  come,  and  temptations,  when  trials 


452  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

or  afflictions  come,  it  is  no  sin  to  tell  it  to  your  neigh- 
bor and  friend,  but  go  first  and  tell  it  to  Jesus,  for 
there  is  no  one  in  the  universe  that  knows  so  well 
how  to  help  you  and  how  to  sympathize  with  you  as 
the  Lord  Jesus.  Oh,  we  need  to  enter  into  closer 
communion  with  him.  We  need  to  get  right  up  close 
to  him,  so  that  we  feel  the  pulsations  of  his  great, 
warm,  throbbing  heart;  and  if  you  live  there,  you 
will  find  continuing  and  perpetual  soul  rest. 

This  soul  rest  that  the  believer  finds  under  the  yoke 
of  Christ  is  a  rest  in  trouble.  It  seems  so  strange,  and 
yet  it  is  so.  It  may  be  that  some  one  of  you  was  in 
the  army.  If  you  were  not,  you  have  doubtless  read 
of  men  who  had  fought  hard  all  day,  and  when  night 
came  could  not  go  back  in  camp,  for  the  battle 
was  not  yet  decided.  They  simply  had  to  stay  right 
on  the  field  where  they  fought ;  but  they  were  weary 
and  exhausted;  and  many  a  poor  soldier  lay  down 
on  his  arms  and  slept  soundly,  and  maybe  dreamed 
of  home,  though  it  were  a  thousand  miles  away.  He 
rested,  but  it  was  a  rest  in  trouble.  So,  in  like  man- 
ner, the  Christian  with  his  armor  on  may  find  soul 
rest  on  the  field,  and  have  patience  and  have  con- 
tentment, and  then  a  better  home  that  may  be  to  us, 
apparently,  far  away.  Under  the  yoke  of  Christ,  I 
insist  upon  it,  believers  will  find  perpetual  rest,  and 
this  soul  rest  is  but  the  Sabbath  dawn.  There  comee 
after  this  that  everlasting  rest. 

Now,  see  to  it,  Christians,  that  you  have  the  yoke 
on  properly.  If  you  feel  that  it  is  on  a  little  crooked, 
this  day,  before  the  sun  goes  down,  go  to  God  in  con- 


Winning  Souls  453 

secration;  see  that  you  liave  the  yoke  on  right,  and 
then,  to-night,  or  to-morrow  night,  or  whenever  you 
have  an  opportunity,  you  will  say,  to  the  honor  of 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  '"His  yoke  is  easy."  I  find  it 
so.    May  he  bless  us. 


Winning  Souls. 

[Preached  at  Graud  Rapids,  Michigan,  September  2, 1894.] 

"He  that  winneth  souls  is  wise"  (Prov.  11:30). 
"And  they  that  be  wise  shall  shine  as  the  brightness 
of  the  firmament ;  and  they  that  turn  many  to  right- 
eousness as  the  stars  for  ever  and  ever"  (Dan.  12 :  3). 
"Let  him  know,  that  he  which  converteth  the  sinner 
from  the  error  of  his  way  shall  save  a  soul  from 
death,  and  shall  hide  a  multitude  of  sins"  (Jas. 
5:20). 

I  have  read  these  three  verses  because  they  bear 
directly  on  the  same  thought.  I  shall  aim  to  call 
your  attention  to  a  few  practical  thoughts  suggested 
by  the  reading  of  these  several  scriptures. 

The  first  thought  that  would  naturally  suggest  it- 
self is  concerning  the  immortality  and  the  future 
existence  of  the  soul.  Is  it  all  of  life  to  live  here  ? 
Is  there  anything  beyond  what  we  see  and  know  in 
this  life  ?  In  other  words,  does  death  end  all  ?  Now, 
I  have  not  time  nor  strength  nor  disposition  to  argue 
tliis  question  at  length.     I  only  wish  to  call  your 


454  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

attention  to  a  few  thoughts  with  which  we  are 
very  familiar,  in  evidence  of  the  immortality  and 
future  existence  of  the  soul.  It  seems  to  me  our  own 
consciousness  ought  to  settle  the  question  beyond  all 
reasonable  controversy.  We  can  overcome  logical 
arguments,  maybe ;  we  may  be  able  to  overcome  meta- 
physical arguments,  but  to  overcome  the  argument 
arising  from  our  consciousness  is  beyond  our  power. 
Whether  we  are  well  settled  in  mind  as  to  what  con- 
science is,  is  not  material ;  there  is  something  about 
us  that  we  recognize,  or  call  consciousness,  and  wo 
cannot  get  away  from  ourselves.  You  believe,  and 
you  cannot  help  it,  that  there  is  something  remain- 
ing for  man  after  this  life,  and  those  who  go  about 
arguing  against  the  immortality  of  man,  and  in  favor 
of  his  materiality  alone,  are  simply  arguing  with  their 
own  consciousness,  trying  to  make  themselves  believe 
what  they  know  to  be  untrue.  If  there  was  not  an- 
other argument  in  all  the  range  of  human  thought  in 
proof  of  man's  future  existence,  the  fact  of  his  pres- 
ent dissatisfaction  would  be  altogether  sufficient.  If 
man  is  altogether  mortal,  there  ought  to  be  enough 
in  this  material  world  to  fully  and  completely  satisfy 
him.  l^ow,  we  are  in  the  habit  of  using  the  word 
"satisfied,"  but,  carrying  it  to  the  last  analysis,  we 
have  no  right  to  use  that  word ;  for  I  seriously  doubt 
if  it  is  possible  for  any  man  or  woman  to  reach  a 
position  in  this  life  when  they  can  truthfully  say, 
"I  am  satisfied."  You  may  be  contented,  and  ought 
to  be  when  you  are  conscious  of  doing  the  best 
you    can,    but    to    be    satisfied    is    another    thing. 


Wififii7ig  Souls  455 

One  would  ihink,  from  the  many  promises  that 
God  had  given  to  Israel  concerning  the  land  of 
Canaan,  its  richness,  its  beauty,  its  excellency,  that 
it  ought  to  have  satisfied  them;  but  with  all  the 
glorious  representations  of  that  goodly  land  that  the 
Israelites  heard,  they  were  not  satisfied.  You  read 
Paul,  in  Hebrews,  eleventh  chapter,  and  you  will  find 
this  language,  in  full  view  of  Canaan,  with  all  its 
richness,  with  its  fruits  and  milk  and  honey,  and  the 
wholesome  water — with  a  full  view  of  it,  Paul  says, 
"But  now  they  desire  a  better  country,  that  is,  an 
heavenly." 

One  would  think  that  Haman  ought  to  have  been 
satisfied  when  he  was  next  to  the  king  in  authority. 
He  was  a  man  held  in  great  honor  among  the  peo- 
ple; he  rode  the  king's  horse;  was  arrayed  in  the 
richest  of  robes;  almost  everybody  bowed  to  Haman 
as  he  rode  along  the  streets  everywhere,  because  he 
was  second  only  to  the  king.  And  so  Queen  Esther 
made  a  banquet,  to  which  she  invited  the  king  and 
Haman  alone.  He  was  wonderfully  elated  over  it, 
and  with  the  king  he  banqueted  with  the  queen,  and 
at  the  close  she  invited  them  to  the  banquet  on  the 
following  day.  He  went  home  and  told  his  wife, 
called  his  relatives,  called  them  all  about  him,  and 
told  of  his  riches  and  his  honor  and  of  his  glory, 
and,  "What  do  you  think  ?  To-morrow  Queen  Esther 
invites  the  king  and  me,  us  two  and  no  more,  to 
banquet  with  her."  Do  you  not  think,  under  the  cir- 
cumstances, that  he  ought  to  have  been  satisfied  ? 
But  he  was  not.    There  was  one  poor  old  Jew,  sitting 


456  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

down  there  by  the  gate,  that  would  not  bow,  and  that 
was  the  fly  in  the  ointment.  He  was  not  satisfied. 
A  thousand  had  bowed  to  him  on  that  day,  and  a 
thousand  would  bow  to  him  on  the  following  day, 
but  that  poor  old  Jew  would  not  bow  to  him,  hence 
he  was  not  satisfied,  notwithstanding  his  environ- 
ments. And  so  now,  and  you  need  not  sit  there 
and  deny  it,  each  of  you  has  a  Mordecai  sitting 
around  somewhere.  You  would  be  contented  with 
that  and  with  this,  if  only  Mordecai  was  out  of  the 
way.  You  will  never  get  him  out  of  the  way,  and 
you  will  not  have  reached  the  place  where  you  can 
say,  ''Satisfied,"  until  you  reach  that  condition  rep^ 
resented  by  David  when  he  said,  "I  shall  be  satisfied, 
when  I  awake,  with  thy  likeness."  Till  then  you 
will  find  this  dissatisfaction. 

You  have  built  houses,  some  of  you;  you  have 
called  an  architect  to  your  assistance,  and  you  have 
planned  and  arranged,  and  made  your  building  ac- 
cording to  your  plans ;  you  have  furnished  your  house, 
and  your  friends  have  come  in,  and  they  have  con- 
gratulated you  on  your  success — "What  a  beautiful 
house!  How  completely  everything  is  arranged." 
"That  is  so,  but  if  I  had  another  to  build,  it  would 
be" — don't  you  know  ?  You  said  so,  and  you  know 
you  said  so;  and  you  keep  on  building  houses  until 
you  die,  a  hundred  years  old,  and  the  last  one  will  be 
no  better  than  the  rest,  in  so  far  as  rendering  per- 
fect satisfaction  is  concerned. 

]^ow,  then,  it  appears  to  me  that  the  God  who 
formed  us  has  arranged  that  some  time,  somewhere, 


Wiunifig  /i)ouls  457 

Ave  shall  find  environments  in  the  midst  of  which 
we  can  truthfully  say,  "I  am  satisfied."  It  is  not 
here,  but  it  is  there;  And  so  it  proves,  beyond  a 
reasonable  doubt,  there  is  something  in  us  or  about  us 
that  does  not  inhere  in  matter,  something  that  is 
above  us,  something  that  is  beyond  us. 

But  I  will  not  detain  you  upon  this.  I  want  to 
speak  now  of  the  sad  condition  of  an  unsaved  soul. 
What  is  the  condition  of  the  souls  of  men  and  women 
away  from  Christ  ?  It  is  one  of  the  saddest  pictures 
that  was  ever  drawn  before  the  mind  of  a  mortal. 
I  doubt  if  there  could  be  a  sadder  picture  drawn  be- 
fore the  vision  of  an  angel  than  the  condition  of  a 
soul  unsaved.  We  talk,  sometimes,  solemnly  of  the 
awful  loss  of  an  immortal  soul  in  the  eternities. 
"Oh,"  we  say,  ''how  dreadful !' '  I  read,  once,  the 
description  called  "The  Funeral  of  a  Lost  Soul." 
It  is  a  picture  that  ought  to  all  but  curdle  the 
blood  in  our  veins.  The  funeral  of  a  lost  soul  as  it 
passes  away  from  this  tabernacle  into  the  unseen ! 
It  is  a  sad,  it  is  a  dark  and  gloomy  picture,  but  let 
this  thought  come  home  to  you,  that  the  soul  is  in 
a  lost  state  now,  and  all  there  is  between  you  and 
that  eternal  state  is  the  little  brittle  thread  of  life; 
if  once  severed,  the  loss  becomes  eternal. 

My  friends,  I  speak  to  the  unsaved,  you  are  lost 
to-day,  and  you  are  hardly  aware  that  you  are  carry- 
ing about  in  you  an  immortal  something  that  is  in 
a  condition,  which,  if  you  could  see  it  as  God  sees  it, 
would  alarm  you.  Why,  the  Scriptures  represent  it 
as  being  stained,  as  being  red  as  scarlet  and  crimson ; 


458  biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

then  it  is  represented  not  as  being  at  enmity  against 
God,  but  as  enmity  itself.  The  carnal  man  is  en- 
mity against  God;  in  spite  of  yourself,  with  that 
unsaved  soul,  you  are  at  war  against  God  and  against 
heaven;  against  everything  that  is  pure,  against 
everything  that  is  lovely,  against  everything  that  is 
sacred ;  and  you  cannot  help  it.  You  may  try  to  rule 
yourself  dowTi  to  it,  you  may  try,  by  the  force  of 
will,  to  bring  yourself  into  subjection  to  that  which 
is  pure  and  right,  but  you  cannot  do  it.  Paul  says, 
"It  is  not  subject  to  the  law  of  God,  neither  indeed 
can  be."  !No  man  or  woman  can  be  in  obedience  to 
the  government  of  Heaven  as  long  as  they  have 
within  them  that  soul  unsaved — lost,  polluted,  enmity 
against  God  and  everything  that  is  pure  and  sacred. 

But,  passing  from  this,  with  only  a  statement  of 
the  fact,  we  come  to  another  thought,  and  thjat  is 
this:  What  is  implied  and  included  in  winning  a 
soul  to  Christ?  Now,  I  want  to  be  very  careful  in 
my  statements  here,  for  it  is  a  fearful  thing  to  make 
a  mistake  on  this  point,  and  these  ministers  should 
study  this  subject  with  the  very  greatest  of  care. 
Oh,  to  direct  a  soul  w^ong,  to  rock  the  conscience  to 
sleep  in  false  security,  if  possible,  is  a  thought  that 
ought  to  wake  us  up.  Why,  my  brother,  you  can- 
not afford  it.  What,  then,  does  it  mean  to  win  a 
soul  to  Christ?  ISTegatively,  it  means  more  than  to 
win  men  and  women  to  our  opinion,  however  correct 
we  may  be,  however  sound  our  opinions  may  be.  We 
have  not  won  a  soul  to  Christ  when  we  have  simply 
w^on  them  to  our  opinions.     It  means  more  than  to 


Winfiing  /Souls  469 

win  men  and  women  into  the  denomination  of  which 
we  maj  be  a  member.  I  am  speaking  not  a  word 
against  this ;  I  am  only  speaking  negatively  of  win- 
ning a  soul  to  Christ.  You  may  win  men  and  women 
into  the  church  by  the  scores  and  hundreds,  and  not 
one  of  them  won  to  Christ.  Now,  I  want  to  insist 
upon  it,  beloved,  that  you  are  careful  along  this  line. 
I  am  as  certain  as  I  can  be  certain  of  anything  that 
I  do  not  know  absolutely,  that  the  denominations  to- 
day are  filling  up  with  unconverted  men  and  women. 
That  may  seem  to  you  to  be  a  broad  and  unreason- 
able charge,  but  I  fear  that  it  is  too  true.  A  lawyer 
in  the  city  of  Dayton,  when  approached  on  this  ques- 
tion, on  the  matter  of  coming  to  the  Saviour,  said 
to  the  pastor  of  one  of  our  churches,  ''I  have  my 
views  of  Christianity,  and  it  is  my  deliberate  opinion 
that  you  are  making  it  altogether  too  easy  to  become 
a  Christian ;  you  are  making  the  way  too  easy." 
That  from  an  unconverted  man,  who  could  only  look 
on,  and  who,  perhaps,  had  correct  views  of  what  it 
was  to  be  a  Christian ! 

You  teach  your  people  that  nothing  less  than  re- 
pentance towards  God  and  faith  in  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  will  suffice.  And  now,  what  is  repentance? 
Well,  it  is  a  little  more  than  reformation.  A  man 
may  reform  a  thousand  times,  and  never  repent  once ; 
but  if  a  man  repents  with  an  evangelical  repentance, 
reformation  will  be  included — it  follows ;  but  refor- 
mation may  occur  without  one  particle  of  repentance. 
There  are  to  us  what  may  appear  strange  paradoxes. 
The   idea   of   a   man   going   down   in   order  to  go 


460  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

up  is  strange  reasoning,  you  say,  but  it  is  Bible  doc- 
trine. If  we  humble  ourselves,  we  shall  be  exalted, 
but  if  we  exalt  ourselves,  we  shall  be  abased.  The 
Avay  to  go  up  is  to  go  down,  and  repentance  implies 
going  down ;  it  means  the  breaking  up  of  our  whole 
carnal  nature;  but,  positively,  it  implies  a  regenera- 
tion, a  reconstruction  of  our  whole  moral  nature. 
What  would  Jesus  say  if  he  were  here  to-day  and 
his  attention  called  to  this  very  thought  ?  He  would 
say,  without  any  equivocation,  ''Ye  must  be  born 
again."  Well,  you  might  say,  *'I  don't  understand 
it ;  I  cannot  comprehend  it."  He  would  repeat, 
"Marvel  not  that  I  say  unto  thee.  Ye  must  be  bom 
again."  There  are  no  "ifs"  or  "ands"  about  it;  there 
must  be  a  complete  and  radical  change  of  the  whole 
moral  nature.  Why,  it  is  represented  in  the  Scrip- 
tures as  a  resurrection  from  the  dead.  You  are  dead 
in  trespasses  and  sins ;  but  Paul  says  that  we  are 
risen  with  Christ.  Then,  it  is  called  a  "quickening," 
bringing  into  life.  How  hath  he  quickened  us  "who 
were  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins" !  So,  then,  to  be 
won  to  Christ  there  must  be  a  complete  change  of 
our  moral  nature,  a  reconstruction  from  the  ground 
up.  Accompanying  this  is  the  assurance,  is  the  in- 
ward evidence  that  this  work  of  grace  is  wrought  in 
the  soul.  Do  the  Scriptures  so  teach  ?  Let  us  see. 
A  long  time  ago,  an  old  man  said,  "I  know  that  my 
redeemer  liveth."  About  the  same  time,  or  maybe  a 
little  later,  another  said,  "As  far  as  the  east  is  from 
the  west,  so  far  hath  he  removed  our  transgressions 
from  us."     A  little  later,  another  said,  "In  that  day. 


Wmning  Souls  461 

O  Lord,  I  will  praise  thee:  though  thou  wast  angry 
with  me,  thine  anger  is  turned  away,  thou  comf  ortedst 
me."  Later  still,  another  said,  "The  Spirit  itself 
[or  himself]  beareth  witness  with  our  spirit  that  we 
are  the  sons  of  God."  A  little  later,  the  same  one 
said,  "For  we  know  that  if  our  earthly  house  of  this 
tabernacle  were  dissolved,  we  have  a  building  of  God, 
a  house  not  made  with  hands,  eternal  in  the  heavens." 
A  little  later,  another  said,  "Blessed  be  the  God  and 
Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  which  according 
to  his  abundant  mercy  hath  begotten  us  again  unto  a 
lively  hope  by  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ  from 
the  dead."  A  little  later,  another  said,  "He  that  be- 
lieveth  on  the  Son  of  God  hath  the  witness  in  him- 
self" ;  and,  again,  another  said,  ''Because  ye  are  sons, 
God  hath  sent  forth  the  Spirit  of  his  Son  into  your 
hearts,  crying,  Abba,  Father." 

Will  all  this  take  place  within  a  man  and  he  be 
ignorant  of  it  ?  Will  it  ?  Can  it  ?  I  tell  you,  be- 
loved, you  can  be  just  as  sure  you  are  saved  as  you 
are  sure  you  are  alive — just  as  sure.  You  can  be 
just  as  sure  you  are  saved  as  you  are  sure  you  are 
lost.  Why,  religion  would  be  of  little  account  to  us 
in  this  life,  if  it  were  not  for  this  inner  assurance; 
it  is  a  dry  life,  I  assure  you,  to  live  on  mere  "hope 
so."  But  there  comes  the  quickening,  the  inspiring 
influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  because  of  this  as- 
surance, and  because  of  this  inner  consciousness, 
Christians  every  once  in  a  while  get  happy  over  it. 

You  remember,  one  time,  when  Jesus  sent  his  dis- 
ciples out  and  gave  them  power  over  unclean  spirits, 


462  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

and  over  diseases,  and  one  thing  and  another,  and  they 
went  out  on  a  little  missionary  tour,  and  they  met 
with  wonderful  success,  that  they  came  back  highly 
elated,  and  made  their  report.  ''Why,"  they  said 
to  the  Master,  "even  the  devils  are  subject  to  us." 
The  Saviour  did  not  rebuke  them  because  they  were 
cheerful  over  their  success,  but  he  said,  "Rather  re- 
joice because  your  names  are  written  in  heaven."  It 
is  a  wonderful  thing  to  cast  out  devils  and  heal 
diseases  and  to  know  evil  spirits  are  subject  to  us, 
but  it  is  more  wonderful,  by  far,  to  know  that  our 
names  are  written  in  heaven.  I  declare  to  you  to- 
day, beloved,  I  would  rather  be  conscious  of  this 
fact  than  of  any  other  one  thing  in  the  universe* 
There  are  ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand  things  I 
would  like  to  know  that  I  do  not  know,  and  maybe 
will  not  know;  I  don't  know  when  in  the  eternities 
I  may  know  them;  but  this  one  thing  I  do,  or  may 
know  even  now,  that  my  name  is  written  in  heaven. 
I  do  not  expect  it  could  be  found  in  the  archives  iit 
Washington ;  I  do  not  expect  it  could  be  found  in 
the  records  of  your  State  at  Lansing;  I  do  not  sup- 
pose so,  and  I  do  not  care,  but  to  know  that  my  name 
is  written  in  heaven,  that  is  above  all,  that  is  worth 
more  than  all  the  rest.  To  be  won  to  Christ  means 
just  this  much,  that  you  are  to  know  for  yourself  that 
you  are  saved,  that  you  are  his,  and  that  he  is  yours. 
But  I  may  say,  in  a  general  way,  that  to  be  won 
to  Christ  means  not  in  halves  nor  in  parts,  but  it 
means  the  whole  man — the  head  and  the  heart  and 
the  life.    "Well,  I  can  go  that  pretty  well,"  one  says, 


Winning  iSouls  463 

"the  head,  I  can  go  that,  and  the  heart  and  the  life, 
if  that  is  all  that  is  meant."  It  is  all,  so  far  as  it  goes, 
but  God  has  made  you  a  steward  and  put  into  your 
hands  a  certain  trust,  and  in  coming  over  to  Christ's 
side  you  must  just  bring  all  over  except  sin;  that  be- 
longs to  you.  Soul,  body,  and  spirit,  houses,  lands, 
money,  everything  else.  Sometimes  it  is  even  easier 
to  get  men  converted  inside  than  to  get  their  pockets 
converted.  I  do  not  say  that  everybody  that  comes 
into  the  church,  or  on  Christ's  side,  I  do  not  say  they 
are  to  give  everything  away,  all  that  they  have.  I 
never  thought  that.  No,  no,  but  to  feel  and  realize 
that  what  they  have  belongs  to  the  Lord.  Why,  my 
brother,  you  can  enjoy  what  you  have  a  thousand 
times  better  if  you  have  this  view  of  it,  that  what 
you  have  belongs  to  the  Lord.  But,  is  it  a  fact? 
Let  us  see*  "The  earth  is  the  Lord's,  and  the  fulness 
thereof" ;  "the  cattle  upon  a  thooisand  hills"  are  his. 
^ow,  if  you  have  anything  outside  of  that,  I  suppose 
it  is  your  own.  He  has  the  first  mortgage  and  the 
first  claim,  and  when  you  come  over  to  him  you  must 
just  come  over  wholesale.  It  is  so  unhandy  to  be 
running  back  and  forth.  Take  a  part  of  it  over  on 
the  other  side,  and  you  will  have  to  be  running  away 
looking  after  it;  better  just  bring  it  all  along,  and 
when  you  are  all  on  the  Lord's  side  then  you  are 
happy. 

But,  another  thought:  Upon  whom  does  the  rer 
sponsibility  of  winning  souls  to  Christ  rest  ? 

We  answer,  first,  preeminently  upon  the  minister. 
We  say  this  because  God  has  called  men  to  this  work 


464  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

specifically;  aud  because  lie  has  called  men  to  this 
work  specifically,  therefore  it  preeminently  rests  upon 
that  class  of  persons.  And  now,  to  succeed  as  a  work- 
man, to  succeed  in  winning  souls  to  Christ,  a  good 
many  things  are  necessary  of  which  I  cannot  speak. 
I  will  name  just  a  few,  and  among  these,  first,  of 
course,  the  heart  must  be  right.  Then,  secondly,  you 
must  prepare  for  it  just  the  very  best  that  your  en- 
vironments will  permit  you.  "^^ Study  to  show  thy- 
self approved  unto  God,  a  workman  that  needeth  not 
to  be  ashamed,  rightly  dividing  the  word  of  truth." 
Any  man  can  divide  the  word  of  truth  in  some  man- 
ner, I  suppose,  but  to  divide  the  word  of  truth  right- 
fully will  require  careful,  close,  persevering  thought. 
Now,  I  go  in  for  all  the  religion  the  heart  will  hold, 
but,  in  connection  with  that,  I  want  men  in  the  min- 
istry to  prepare  themselves  intellectually,  just  as  far 
as  it  is  possible.  O  my  brother,  you  are  studying  a 
Book  that  contains  more  than  you  will  ever  know. 
I  remember,  fifty  years  ago,  and  there  along,  I  looked 
at  the  Bible.  Why  it  seemed  to  me  not  to  contain 
so  very  much;  it  seemed  to  me  that  it  ought  to  be 
mastered  in  a  very  few  years ;  and  I  read  it  and  read 
it,  to  be  sure,  and  thought  along  this  line  and  along 
that  line.  Why,  it  seemed  to  me,  in  a  comparatively 
short  time,  I  was  right  over  in  the  midst  of  God's 
flower-garden,  just  gathering  up  the  flowers  as  I 
pleased ;  but  as  the  years  came  and  went  I  began  to 
see  something  that  I  had  not  seen  in  the  early  part  of 
my  ministry,  and  now,  after  fifty  years,  I  am  not  in 
the  garden  at  all,  I  am  just  at  the  fence,  looking  over, 


Win7ii?ig  Souls  465 

that  is  all.  I  do  not  know  how  it  is  with  you,  but 
I  find  when  I  open  the  Bible  and  read  those  passages 
that  I  committed  to  memoiy  forty  years  ago,  and 
have  quoted  a  thousand  times,  maybe,  as  my  eyes 
fall  upon  them,  up  will  flash  some  new  blessed 
truth  I  have  never  seen.  You  may  analyze  it  and 
carry  it  to  the  last  analysis,  and  beyond  the  depth 
of  your  mind  there  are  hidden  truths  and  treasures. 
I  beg  of  you  as  a  minister  to  study  the  Word  of  God 
with  all  tlie  helps  you  can  bring  around  it;  make 
it  your  text-book,  make  that  your  text-book  before 
every  other,  but  get  all  the  help  you  can  to  unfold 
and  to  explain,  and  to  assist  you  in  comprehending  its 
truths.  I  am  sometimes  astonished  at  preachers,  (I 
don't  know  how  it  is  with  you,)  they  get  short  of  a 
text.  "I  have  no  text,  I  don't  know  what  to  do," — 
with  that  blessed  God's  Book  before  them  and  cannot 
find  a  text ! 

You  just  undertake  to  preach  all  there  is  in  the 
fifth  chapter  of  Matthew,  will  you  ?  Just  commence 
on  that  if  you  cannot  find  a  text,  and  if  you  are  young 
your  head  will  be  as  white  as  mine  before  you  get 
through  with  that  chapter.  You  can  preach  a  dozen 
sermons,  if  you  want  to,  from  one  single  sentence  of 
the  fifth  chapter  of  Matthew,  and  you  will  find  it 
so  almost  anywhere  else  in  God's  Word.  The  reason 
why  you  cannot  find  a  text  is  because  you  have  not 
studied,  you  have  not  gone  with  your  bucket  to  the 
well  and  let  it  down  to  draw  up  the  rich  fountains 
of  truth  therein  contained.  But  to  succeed,  you  must 
not  only  have  the  mental  culture,  the  mental  prepara- 


^66  JBiography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

tion,  but  jou  must  be  a  busy  man,  a  very  busy  man. 
Mind  you,  your  work  is  to  win  souls  to  Christ.  Do 
not  forget  that  You  go  out  this  year  to  your  fields 
of  labor,  what  for  'i  If  for  any  other  purpose  than 
to  win  souls  to  Christ,  I  beg  of  you  to  hand  the  pre- 
siding elder  your  resignation  before  sundown.  Do  it, 
I  beseech  of  you.  If  you  have  a  higher  thought  than 
to  win  souls  to  Christ,  never  go  near  the  field  of 
labor,  unless  your  heart  is  made  over  agaim  You 
must  go  for  that  purpose,  and  then  you  must  be  a 
busy  man.  Do  not  expect  to  do  your  whole  work  in 
the  pulpit;  a  part  of  it,  only  a  part  of  it  is  done 
there.  You  must  go  among  the  people,  go  after 
them;  and  you  must  go  to  those  that  are  away 
down. 

I  read,  awhile  ago,  about  a  young  lady  in  the  city 
of  New  York,  just  after  a  heavy,  dashing  rain,  walk- 
ing along  the  street  near  to  the  curbstone.  She  had 
on  a  finger  a  most  beautiful  ring,  and,  some  way  or 
another,  it  dropped  from  her  finger  into  a  pool  of 
muddy,  filthy  water,  right  by  the  side  of  the  curb- 
stone. She  was  very  nicely  dressed,  but  that  ring 
was  to  her  a  very  great  treasure,  and  without  look- 
ing who  would  see  her,  and  without  a  moment's  hesi- 
tation, she  kneeled  down  by  the  side  of  the  pool  on 
the  wet  pavement,  rolled  up  her  sleeves,  and  reached 
down  into  that  muddy  water,  feeling  around,  and  at 
last  found  the  jewel.  The  lady  seemed  delighted, 
notwithstanding  the  humiliation  in  reaching  after  it. 
There  is  many  a  jewel  down  in  the  filth  and  mire, 
and  if  you  win  souls  to  Christ  you  must  get  down 


Winnifig  iSouls  467 

and  reach  for  them.  There  is  many  a  jewel  down  in 
the  very  bottom  of  those  pools,  jewels  in  the  sight 
of  Heaven,  that,  if  polished,  will  shine  as  brightly  as 
Paul  will  shine.  To  be  a  soul-winner  is  to  be  a  busy 
man,  to  look  around  and  about  and  to  find  souls 
wherever  you  can  find  them.  Poor  they  may  be,  but, 
bless  you,  look  after  the  poor — look  after  them ;  they 
have  it  hard  enough,  anyvray,  and  to  be  neglected  by 
ministers  is  shameful,  absolutely  shameful.  Go  after 
them  and  lead  them  to  Christ,  if  you  can. 

Then,  I  want  to  tell  you,  do  not  go  out  scolding  the 
people.  If  you  have  a  disposition  to  scold,  quit  it, 
will  you  ?  quit  your  scolding !  Scolding  is  not 
preaching,  i^o,  no.  Preach  the  truth  plainly,  but 
kindly.  Do  you  know,  more  souls  are  won  to  Christ 
by  kind  words  and  kind  acts  than  can  ever  be  won 
by  harsh  words  and  harsh  acts.  It  was  just  a  kind 
word  that  won  John  B.  Gough.  Sitting  out  there 
in  filth  and  rags,  a  gentleman  came  along  and  said 
to  Mr.  Gough,  "Will  you  go  with  me  to  the  temper- 
ance meeting  ?"  Mr.  Gough  declined,  to  be  sure.  He 
thought  of  his  clothes  and  his  filth  and  his  condition, 
he  thought  it  would  never  to  do  to  walk  with  that 
nice,  cleanly  dressed  gentleman,  but  a  better  thought 
came  after  awhile,  to  this  effect,  ''If  he  is  not  ashamed 
to  walk  with  me,  I  ought  not  to  be  ashamed  to  walk 
with  him,"  and  so  he  moved  along.  A  kind  word 
did  it.  I  read,  not  long  ago,  of  a  man  in  a  hospital, 
a  poor,  miserable  wreck,  that  had  been  a  wreck  for 
years  and  years.  A  lawyer  went  into  the  hospital, 
and,  coming  to  the  poor  fellow's  cot,  spoke  kindly  to 


468  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

him,  and  the  man  drew  the  cover  over  his  face  and 
wept  and  sobbed  as  if  his  heart  would  break.  When 
he  recovered  sufficiently  to  speak,  he  said  to  the  law- 
yer, "You  are  the  first  man  who  ever  spoke  a  kind 
word  to  me,  and  I  can't  stand  it."  I  tell  you,  there 
are  many  hearts  that  have  been  cuffed  and  scourged 
in  one  way  and  another  that  are  just  aching  and  bleed- 
ing for  a  kind  word.  Say  some  kind  words  to  the 
fallen,  and  those  away  from  Christ,  and  in  this  way 
you  may  bring  them  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

But  this  responsibility  rests  with  equal  force  upon 
the  whole  church.  You  read  in  the  last  chapter  of 
Kevelation,  in  almost  the  last  verse,  these  words,  "The 
Spirit  and  the  bride  [which  is  the  church]  say, 
Come."  It  is  the  language  of  the  church  generally, 
and  so  it  becomes  the  duty  of  every  member  of  the 
church  to  aid  the  pastor  in  this  work. 

Now  let  me  say,  beloved,  there  is  nothing  better 
than  cooperation  between  the  pastor  and  his  people — 
cooperation.  The  pastor  should  cooperate  wdth  his 
people,  and  the  people  should  cooperate  with  the  pas- 
tor. But  some  men  seem  to  have  a  strange  inter- 
pretation of  that  word  "cooperation."  Why,  they 
seem  to  think  the  word  "co"  means  together,  and 
"operation"  means  to  sit  still,  so  that  by  cooperation 
they  mean  to  sit  still  together.  But  it  has  a  more 
active  meaning  than  that.  Let  the  pastor  do  his  best, 
and  the  church  second  his  motion,  and  cooperate  with 
him  in  every  possible  way. 

Why,  any  of  you  can  be  a  soul-winner,  if  you  will. 
It  does  not  take  much  at  some  times  to  win  a  soul 


Winning  ISouls  469 

to  Christ,  I  tell  you,  it  does  not.  A  word  fitly 
spoken  in  the  right  time  and  in  the  right  spirit,  some- 
times a  single  word,  will  bring  a  soul  to  Christ. 
Sometimes  a  single  word  of  a  little  child  has  brought 
a  soul  to  Christ.  I  read,  not  long  ago,  of  a  gentle- 
man that  went  to  a  lawyer  in  iSTew  York.  The  lawyer 
was  a  man  over  seventy  years  of  age.  The  gentle- 
man wanted  some  instrument  of  writing  prepared, 
and  the  lawyer  sat  down  and  wrote  very  rapidly; 
the  gentleman  watched  him,  and  when  he  was  done, 
and  about  to  leave,  he  asked  to  see  his  hand.  The 
lawyer  showed  him  his  hand.  "Why,"  he  said,  ''for 
a  man  over  seventy  years  of  age,  I  am  surprised  to 
see  you  write  so  rapidly,  as  if  all- the  life  of  youth 
was  in  that  hand."  Then  he  looked  at  it  steadily  and 
said,  "In  just  a  few  years  that  hand  will  be  cold  in 
death,"  and  left  him.  There  was  not  much  in  it,  to 
be  sure;  but  every  time  the  lawyer  took  up  the  pen 
after  that,  for  days,  that  thought  was  there,  "In  a 
short  time  that  hand  will  be  cold  in  death."  And 
it  would  run  along  and  run  along  with  him  as  he 
wrote  the  lines,  and  got  to  his  heart  and  into  his  mind 
and  SO'  fastened  itself  upon  him  that  he  could  not  be 
satisfied  until  he  came  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  And 
so,  I  say,  a  word  rightly  spoken,  a  song  sung,  a  tear 
shed,  a  smile,  may  win  a  soul  to  Christ.  I  tell  you, 
my  friends,  I  would  rather,  in  the  great  day  of  set- 
tlement, go  up  to  the  Throne  with  a  half-dozen  souls 
won  to  Christ  than  to  win  all  the  kingdoms  of  this 
earth  while  I  am  here ;  and  any  of  you  can  win  souls 
to  Christ,  stars  in  your  crown  of  rejoicing. 


470  Biography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

Some  on©  said,  in  tiiis  conference,  that  he  did  not 
think  he  was  an  instrument  or  agent  in  the  hands  of 
God  in  bringing  men  to  Christ.  It  is  a  blessed  thing 
to  know  it,  but  you  may  be  an  agent  in  bringing  a 
soul  to  Jesus  and  not  know  it  until  the  day  of  settle- 
ment. We  are  not  to  know,  and  will  not  know  all 
we  have  done,  but  we  must  do  all  we  know  and  all  we 
can. 

Just  a  word  or  two  farther — the  wisdom  of  win- 
ning a  soul  to  Christ.  "He  that  winneth  souls  is 
wise."  The  wisdom  of  winning  a  soul  to  Christ  will 
appear  if  we  consider,  first,  the  value  of  that  which 
is  won.  Look  what  mortal  men  have  done,  how  they 
have  gone  through  fields  of  blood  at  the  risk  of  their 
lives  to  win  a  kingdom ;  but  he  that  winneth  a  soul 
to  Christ  has  won  more,  by  far,  than  he  that  has  won 
a  kingdom.  Think  of  what  it  cost  to  redeem  that 
soul.  jSTothing  less  than  the  suffering  and  death  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ;  he  came  all  the  way  from 
heaven  to  redeem  that  soul.  It  must  be  of  value 
beyond  our  estimation,  else  it  never  would  have  cost 
what  it  did  to  redeem  it. 

And  then,  I  would  have  you  think  of  the  capabili- 
ties of  that  which  you  win  to  Christ.  A  soul  won  to 
Christ,  who  knows  its  capabilities  ?  who  can  measure 
its  future  destiny?  Won  to  heaven,  won  to  eternal 
life,  won  to  a  state  of  angel  perfection,  and  who 
knows  the  heights  to  which  that  immortal  soul  will 
attain  in  the  vast,  ceaseless  ages  of  eternity  ? 

I  close  with  a  very  few  words  concerning  the  re- 
ward  of  those  that   succeed   in  winning  souls  t/O 


Winning  iSouls  471 

Christ:  "Let  him  know,  that  he  which  converteth 
the  sinner  from  the  error  of  his  way  shall  save  a 
soul  from  death,  and  shall  hide  a  multitude  of  sins." 
"They  that  be  wise  shall  shine  as  the  brightness  of 
the  firmament;  and  they  that  turn  many  to  right- 
eousness as  the  stars  for  ever  and  ever." 

Brethren,  do  not  be  in  too  much  of  a  hurry  to 
shine.  Some  preachers  try  to  get  it  aU  here,  and 
they  make  a  miserable  failure  of  it.  Just  go  on 
humbly,  and  meekly,  and  devotedly  preaching  Christ 
and  him  crucified,  and  yQu  will  shine  by  and  by. 
You  will  shine  in  God's  own  time,  and  in  God's  own 
way,  and  in  God's  o^vn  place.  But  allow  yourself 
to  be  humble,  to  he  meek,  and  to  be  godly,  and  wait ; 
and  the  promise  is  that  you  shall  shine  as  the  stars 
forever  and  ever ;  above  the  brightness  of  the  firma- 
ment, and  as  the  stars  forever  and  ever. 

With  such  a  promise^  and  with  such  a  reward  in 
view,  it  seems  to  me  that  we  ought  to  go  out  with 
all  diligence  in  winning  souls  to  Christ. 

As  I  said  to  you  in  the  opening  of  this  conference, 
I  have  met  with  you  off  and  on  for  thirty  years ;  per- 
haps this  is  the  thirteenth  time  I  have  met  with  you, 
and  I  guess  there  is  not  one  of  you  present  that  was 
present  at  the  first  conference  I  attended,  not  one. 
Others  have  come  and  others  have  gone,  and  a  new 
class  of  men  fill  the  place  now;  and  you  have  had 
your  trials,  and  your  conflicts,  and  your  sieges,  that 
which  would  have  driven,  maybe,  others  from  the 
field,  but  you  have  stood  faithfully,  and  I  can  only 
say  to  you  that  the  promise  is,  that  by  and  by  you 


472  JBlography  of  Jonathan  Weaver 

shall  shine  as  the  stars  forever  and  ever.  You  are 
making  sacrifices,  doubtless  denying  yourselves,  work- 
ing hard,  working  discouragingiy,  but  I  find  that 
same  blessed  spirit  here  that  I  found  long  years  ago 
in  this  conference — the  spirit  of  consecration,  the 
spirit  of  love,  the  spirit  of  kindness,  one  towards  an- 
other. And,  if  I  judge  rightly,  (and  I  think  I  am 
not  beclouded  in  this,)  there  is  open  before  you  a 
bright  future,  though  it  may  cost  you  a  few  years  of 
faithful,  earnest  work  before  you  shall  have  reached 
that  better  position;  but  it  is  coming,  and  you  will 
reach  it,  and  you  young  men  will  live  to  see  the  day 
when,  if  you  have  stood  firmly  and  been  faithful,  you 
v;ill  rejoice  that  you  were  not  turned  aside,  but  stood 
firmly  for  the  right,  against  wrong. 

And  now  I  pray  that  God's  blessing  may  be  upon 
your  conference  this  day.  Brethren,  I  wish  you 
would  enter  into  some  kind  of  a  covenant  with  God. 
Five  hundred  souls  for  Christ  this  year !  Some  one 
says  one  hundred  souls  here,  and  some  one  says  one 
hundred  souls  there.  So  be  it.  Go  out  with  a  fixed 
purpose  this  year  to  work  with  God's  help  in  winning 
souls  to  Jesus  Christ. 


INDEX. 


Advice,  his  father's  to  him,  49. 

asked  of  Dr.  Davis,  262. 
Agency,  what  it  taught  him,  114. 
Agent,  elected  to  O.  U.,  77. 
Agne,  how  it  feels,  229. 
Alphabet,  how  taught,  36. 
Ambiguity  of  secrecy  law,  217. 
Anniversary,  seventy-sixth,  382. 
Arithmetic,  how  taught,  38. 
Articles,  some  written  for  paper,  316. 

Baker,  G.  G.,  reply  to,  344. 
Baldwin,  Rev.  J.  G.,  quoted,  61,  198. 
Battle  of  the  giants,  295. 
Beecher,  H.  W.,  quoted,  39. 
Beyond,  all  is  quiet,  234. 
Biblical  department  proposed,  119. 
Biddle,  Rev.  A.,  complimented,  52. 
Biographer,  every  man  his  own,  21. 
Birthday,  seventieth  anniversary,  365. 
Brains,  where  to  spread  them,  118. 

California,  description  of,  162. 
Camp-meetings,  the  flrst  he  attended,  47. 
Cars,  turned  over,  98. 
Cascade  Conference  held,  171. 
Changes,  some  that  have  occurred,  384. 
Character,  careful  of  his,  406. 

Christian,  possessed  by  him,  429. 
Cheyenne,  described,  158. 
Children,  like  parents,  20. 
Chinamen  abused,  168. 
Church,  flrst  United  Brethren  in  the  West,  6 

as  affected  by  war,  59. 

anxiety  for,  226. 

power,  298. 
Circuit,  Weaver's  flrst,  61. 

Weaver's  reflections  on,  215. 
Coast,  his  flrst  visit  to,  156. 
Cold  in  car,  319. 
College  (O.  U.),  how  started,  78. 
Colorado,  what  it  needs,  242. 
Columbia  River,  a  ride  on,  169. 
Commission  summoned,  299. 

met  and  organized,  301. 
Complalners,  a  hint  to,  90. 
Confession  of  Faith,  advised  to  prepare,  332. 

comment  on,  3-58, 
Constitution,  often  changed,  298. 

473 


474  Index 


Contest  on  secrecy,  commenced,  259. 
Council  BluQs,  what  he  saw,  150. 
Courage,  a  man  of,  407. 
Courts,  appeal  to,  323. 

Davy,  what  he  did,  66. 

Davis,  Dr.,  quoted,  79. 

Davis,  Dr.,  reply  to  Weaver,  291. 

Debate  with  Rev.  J.  Davis,  188. 

Debater,  Weaver  as  a,  200. 

Debt,  a  plan  to  pay,  105. 

Delivery,  impressive,  418. 

Difficulties  encountered,  26. 

Discontent  in  the  Church,  279. 

Discussion  proposed  to  Dr.  L.  Davis,  263. 

Discussions,  public,  their  value,  187. 

in  the  way  of  agents,  86. 
Dishonesty  of  men  in  church,  146. 
District,  East  Mississippi,  report  of,  139. 
Doctrine,  Christian,  volume  on,  357. 

East  District,  report  of  for  1870,  183. 
East  Mississippi  District,  report  of,  223. 
Eckert,  John,  his  views  on  education,  82. 
Editor,  Weaver  proposed  for,  122. 
Education,  opposed  because  of  ignorance,  9 
Edwards,  strengthened  for  a  debate,  190. 

quoted  on  secrecy,  227. 
Elam,  Dr.   quoted,  20. 
Emmerson,  quoted,  19. 
Endow,  effort  to,  101. 
Ezekiel,  when  sent,  397. 

Faith  in  God,  man  and  himself,  430. 
Father,  Weaver's,  described,  27. 
Fathers,  the— who  were  they,  308. 
Fellow  passengers  described,  160. 
Finley,  Rev.  .James  B.,  quoted,  72. 
Flickinger,  Rev.  D.  D.,  quoted,  107. 
Frontier,  men  needed  on  the,  253. 

Garst,  Rev.  H.,  quoted,  79. 
Grand  Rapids,  trial  at,  333. 

Heaven,  that  better  country,  contents  of,  3i 

Holmes,  O.  W.,  quoted,  19. 

Home,  old— visit  to,  314. 

Hope,  Weaver  a  man  of,  409. 

How  to  increase  our  membership,  142. 

Humor,  manifested,  71. 

possessed  a  vein  of,  410. 

Ignorance  of  people,  88. 

Illustrations,  skillful  use  of,  417 

Immigrants,  German,  condition  of,  22. 

Incident,  an  amusing,  95. 

Incident  at  General  Conference,  Toledo,  371. 

Independence,  visit  to,  231. 

Infldels  required  to  keep  silent,  65. 


Index  475 


Investigation  necessary,  134. 
Itinerant,  sympatliy  with,  175. 
Itinerating  in  early  times,  386. 

Johnson,  M.,  quoted,  31. 
Judgment,  the— will  sit,  90. 

Kansas,  its  future,  149. 
Keeping  heart,  115. 
Kelton  described,  213. 
Knowing  in  part,  297. 

Labor,  manual  for  college  advocated,  83. 

Land,  Beulah,  a  voice  from,  326. 

Landis,  Dr.  J.  P.,  quoted,  325. 

Language,  used  plain,  414. 

Lecture  for  G.  A.  R.,  30'J. 

Letters,  none  kept,  400. 

Life  in  western  Pennsylvania  in  1778,  23. 

Life  uncertain,  393. 

Lincoln,  A.,  how  he  learned  to  demonstrate,  55. 

Look,  a  forward,  388. 

Man,  Weaver  a  great,  403. 

McKee,  Rev.  W.,  response  to  Weaver,  275. 

quoted,  329. 
Memories  of  the  past,  257. 
Memory,  a  retentive,  416. 
Men,  a  good  knowledge  of,  421. 
Men,  how  to  reach  them,  174. 
Ministers,  advice  to,  394. 
Ministers,  appealed  to,  93. 

why  not  succeed  better,  173. 

in  Northwest  District,  letter  to,  238. 
Minister,  a  young,  in  Pennsylvania,  23. 
Ministerial  dead  line,  378. 
Ministry,  kind  needed  in  the  West,  274. 
Ministry,  when  to  leave  it,  270. 
Missionaries,  plea  for,  258. 
Mission  Board,  391. 
More  beyond,  320. 
Mother,  Weaver's  described,  28. 
Moving,  keep,  illustrated,  248. 
Music,  instrumental,  liis  opinion,  132. 

Need,  Church's  greatest,  237. 
Newspaper  articles,  some,  185. 

Oberlin  College,  plan  of,  82. 
Ohio  District,  report  for  1874,  213. 
Omaha,  what  he  saw  there,  157. 
Order  in  the  church,  69. 
Oregon,  visits  conference,  164. 
Otterbein  University,  helping  to  endow,  137. 
Our  need,  245. 

Outlook  articles,  why  written,  265. 
given  in  full,  307. 

Pamphlet  written  by  Weaver,  328. 
Parkersburg  Conference,  appeal  for,  205. 


476  Index 


Parliamentarian,  skillful,  426. 
Peace-loving  nature,  possessed  a,  422. 
Pen,  how  he  used  his,  348. 
Philomath,  beauty  of,  167. 
Pioneers  in  Ohio,  how  they  lived,  25. 
Preacher,  a  biblical,  412. 
Priest  factory,  circular  concerning,  80. 
Progressive,  425. 
Providence,  Divine,  350. 

importance  of  submitting  to,  357. 

Railroad  manager  described,  180. 

Reading,  how  taught,  37. 

Rebellion,  how  treated,  311. 

Recommendations  made  by  bishops  at  Fostoria,  296. 

Reformers  defended,  304. 

Remarks  made  at  Lebanon,  155. 

Reminiscences,  271,  370. 

Report,  annual,  for  1866,  129. 

Report  of  Northwest  District,  1881,  247. 

Restoration,  doctrines  of,  examined,  3.54. 

Resurrection,  discourses  on,  first  book,  349. 

Revival  at  Lisbon,  268. 

Sage,  Rev.  N.  S.,  debate  with  Weaver,  195. 

Salary,  ministerial,  354. 

Salem  Church,  Michigan,  Weaver  a  witness,  .331. 

Saturday  evening  at  Elmwood,  232. 

Saved,  nearly,  illustrated,  244. 

Scholarship,  mistake  concerning,  85. 

School-houses,  early,  how  made,  33. 

Schools  in  Connecticut,  39. 

Schools  in  Ohio,  32. 

School-mistress,  a,  in  Connecticut,  39. 

Secret  orders— no  discrimination,  30.5. 

Secret  societies,  lectures,  135. 

Seeking  Religion,  50. 

Sentiment,  public,  131. 

Settlers,  early— how  they  lived,  74. 

Skill  to  adapt  himself,  408. 

Speaker,  a  ready  eodempore,  416. 

Starved  out,  293. 

StoneflRer,  Geo.  D.,  quoted,  51. 

Student,  a  diligent,  413. 

Tastes,  various  kinds  of,  126. 
Teachers  in  southwestern  Ohio,  41. 
Telescope  quoted, 108. 
Temperance  convention. 
Tennessee  Conference,  179. 
Thanks  tendered  Weaver,  194. 
Theology,  Christian,  362. 
Thinking  better  than  reading,  67. 
Tribune,  U.  B.,  started,  259. 
Trustees  not  sufiiciently  helpful,  87. 

Union  Biblical  Seminary,  why  so  named,  153. 
Universalism,  false,  357. 

Vote  taken  in  work  of  Commission,  327. 


hidex  477 

Weaver,  his  ancestry,  21;  giaudfather  came  from  Germany,  22; 
birth  of  parents,  24;  came  to  Ohio,  25;  mother  dies,  29;  early 
schooling,  o5;  parents  not  Christians,  46;  at  camp-meeting,  48; 
converted,  50;  licensed  to  exhort,  51;  thirst  for  knowledge,  54; 
applied  for  license  to  preach,  60;  first  field  of  labor,  61 ;  starting 
for  his  circuit,  62;  marriage,  assigned  to  New  Rumley,  67;  a  de- 
scription of,  68;  a  meeting,  69;  elected  elder,  71;  delegate  to 
General  Conference,  1857,76;  electedcoUegeagent,  77;  canvassing 
for  scholarships,  fondness  for  writing,  89;  moved  to  Wester- 
ville,  100;  financial  agent,  102;  elected  bishop  for  Pacific  coast, 
117;  elected  bishop,  122;  first  conference  held,  124;  starts  for  the 
coast,  152;  in  Oregon,  168;  debate  with  Davis,  191;  third  election, 
203;  starts  west  again,  211;  fourth  election,  216;  fifth  election, 
235;  "Slighted,"  243;  proposal  to  Dr.  Davis  for  discussion,  263; 
holding  meeting  at  Canal  Dover,  270;  sixty  years  old,  273;  out- 
look, 280;  sixth  election,  296;  called  Commission,  299;  sixty- 
two  years  old,  302;  in  luck  at  Lebanon,  Ky.,  312;  vote  taken, 
321;  as  a  witness,  324:  at  Allegan,  Mich.,  331;  chosen  bishop 
emerUus,  343;  using  his  pen,  347;  seventieth  anniversary,  368; 
joined  Oak  Street  Church,  378;  health  failing,  375;  growing 
worse,  401;  died,  402;  adaptation,  406;  courageous,  407;  humor- 
ous, 410;  studious,  413;  peace-loving,  422;  progressive,  425. 


lillllll 


